The BiblioSanctum

Sanctum Sanctorum: Gaming Groups

Posted on March 25, 2016 6 Comments

This month, our roundtable topic is gaming groups. As you may know, we love our games here at Bibliosanctum, many of which we play in a group setting and sometimes even play together. Here we’re chatting about our experiences with group gaming.

Are you a gamer? Feel free to use the comments to answer the questions too!

What kind of group games do you play regularly?

Wendy: I usually play online massively multiplayer role playing games like Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2. I have recently branched out into the world of table top — or rather, I’m playing Dungeons & Dragons, which is essentially table top game, but I’m playing via various online formats due to the fact that I have no one near by to sit at a table with. I also received Munchkins for Christmas, so I’ve been playing that with my daughters.

Mogsy and Wendy adventuring with author Freya Robertson and her husband in Guild Wars 2.

Tiara: For group games, I tend to play Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Sometimes you can find me on Champions Online, but I don’t really play MMOs that much. It’s fun to run around, but sometimes, I like something more linear and story-based, not that SWTOR doesn’t do an excellent job of that. I also dabble in The Secret World, but I haven’t stuck to that one because I have no one to play with. D: I really prefer story-based co-op at this point such as Borderlands. Oh, and I’m playing D&D with Wendy and a few more people.

Mogsy: Well, as a gamer I’m all over the place, but my first love is online gaming and I am an MMO fiend (if you know the story, that’s how I actually got the handle “Mogsy”). I used to play everything, and I mean like everything — Age of Conan, Aion, Neverwinter Online, Champions Online, Rift, Defiance, Elder Scrolls Online, SWTOR, Star Trek Online, just to name some examples. By their nature though, MMOs are a huge time sink, so unfortunately my gaming activity has plummeted ever since my little ones were born. These days I only get a few hours to play each week, and the only MMOs I still hang out in are World of Warcraft and The Secret World (which is an AMAZING game, by the way. Tiara, if you’re looking for someone to play with, you’re always welcome to join my TSW group!) Every Sunday, my Pathfinder group also gets together for a couple hours to do some adventuring over Teamspeak and Fantasy Grounds.

Our DM has thrown so much crap at us since last fall, but my Gnome Barbarian is still kicking around.

How did you find your first gaming group? What did you learn from that experience? Are you still playing together?

Wendy: It was in Final Fantasy XI, which was my very first MMORPG. I had heard awful things about MMOs and the treatment of new players, but I was very fortunate to find the kind of players that proved those stereotypes wrong. I have fond memories of Jadefox taking me to get my ghoul skull, Lilfitz teaching me how to mage, Romero lending me gil to buy my next cure spell, and Heimdall rescuing me from a marauding orc and inviting me to my first linkshell: Heroes of Asgard. As I grew in the game, the reigns of the linkshell were eventually handed over to me and a few others, and I would go on to lead other groups, while participating in yet other groups on the side for high level stuff, but I’ll never forget my first, even long after I’ve stopped playing the game.

Tiara: My first MMO was the now defunct City of Heroes/Villains. I played a brute, which isn’t quite a tank. They soak up a ton of damage like most tanks, but instead of just being the meatshield like a tank, they also deal a ton of damage. For this reason their health wasn’t as great as a tanks because they were tasked with getting things on them and killing them fast. A vet named Shadow took me under his wing and really got me to play outside my comfort zone. He’d been casually trying to get me to team with him for a while. I was determined I was just going to solo my way to through the game, but he was always so polite. Finally, I said, “What the hell?” I am more comfortable being on the front lines than defense, but Shadow taught me the merits of all classes and being all that I can be no matter what I played. And when I DING’D the highest level I could with my first character, it was actually with an Ice Empath, which was a total shock because she’s a support character. I don’t play with Shadow anymore. Sadly, he passed away. He was in the military, but I met three other guys that I do still play with and chat with regularly. Sometimes, my IRL friends got into it, too.

Me and my friend, Sparkle, celebrating our destruction.

Mogsy: My first gaming group was actually my first guild in World of Warcraft. That’s how I actually met my husband! We were both raid leaders, and planning strategies with him was how we eventually grew close and fell in love. I learned a lot in those Burning Crusade days, like how to organize and direct a group of 25 people to take down a boss, learning everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. We were a casual guild so there was never really any conflict or stress, just good old fun. Even though that guild is now dissolved and my husband and I have changed servers since, I still have great memories from those times. Nowadays, I game with a great group of people I mainly know through blogging and Twitter, fantastic folks I’ve been playing with for years. Some of these guys and gals I consider my closest friends, even though I’ve never met many of them face to face. It’s a fairly close knit community.

Magtheridon down, along with 23 of us.

Do you game with your family or is gaming a friends only thing?

Me and my daughter at Sick Kids Hospital for Extra Life.

Wendy: Neither my husband nor I expected me to become as involved with FFXI as I did, but really, it was just an extension of my online presence. We couldn’t afford to play together then, which caused tension in our relationship, but now we make sure to buy two copies of every online game. We both have differing play styles though. He likes solo work like crafting and gathering, while I’m more of a social butterfly who likes to poke at things that will probably get myself and the party killed, which is why I’m glad I have friends who are okay with this bad habit of mine. My nephew is the one who convinced me to finally try D&D and helped me create my first character. He’s currently DMing a game that I’m playing via roll20.net with friends. As I mentioned, I play Munchkin with my daughters and they were a big part of my Extra Life campaign this past year.

Tiara: Preferring to game with family or friends was never a thing. This is really a non-question for me. I game. I play with other gamers. I don’t care if they’re my family or my friends. The family that plays together, stays together. I grew up in a family of gamers, married into a family of gamers. So, I spend time playing games with my family a pretty good deal whether it’s Lego Avengers with the kids or Dead Island with my cousin, AJ. (Yes, I still hate zombies.) You can see how bad we suck here. Also, we had 99 problems and at least 98 of them were doing quests like finding booze for people hiding in bungalows because they couldn’t deal with zombies:

Mogsy: My husband is my steadfast partner in life and in game. We often play with friends too, but the two of us are always a gaming unit. Often we level our characters together, and so our roles will also complement each other. I’m usually the tanky/melee one while he’s the heals/caster, so this dynamic also comes in handy when our friends need to do a dungeon or a group quest or something. The two of us would show up and have everything covered.

What are the dynamics like in your average gaming group? Do people tend to fall into particular roles? What role do you play?

Wendy: When I first started playing online games, I chose a Red Mage because I wanted someone who could survive on their own. I wasn’t expecting to participate in groups, so I wanted to be self-reliant. Even in previous RPGs like Final Fantasy, I always made sure that every character was capable of healing themselves. As I found myself fitting more into the group settings though, I settled into the healing role. My desire for self-sufficiency mutated into a lack of faith in other players’ ability to take care of the people I’d come to call my friends and family. Of course, there were other healers in the group that I learned to trust, but until I reach that point with people, I place the onus on myself to heal. As the dynamics of games have changed, I’ve allowed myself to try other classes that might not have a cure spell handy when I need it. Others would fall into the other necessary roles as needed. But over time, I came to understand that there were “rules” about what was needed and I became determined to defy those rules because far too often, they alienated other players. Yes, having a tank, a healer, a damage dealer, and a controller is ideal, but it’s not the only way, and the challenge and excitement and amusement of finding other options is what gaming is all about for me. It took me a while, but I’m pretty proud of the day I convinced my linkshell mates to try out a deadly mission as a party of entirely naked black mages.

Tiara: If it’s there, I will tank with it. No joke. LOL. I don’t really say that there are dynamics (other than personal dynamics) in groups I play with. Everyone usually does what they’re comfortable with and feel like they’re good at. From there, we synergize and make up for any perceived weaknesses. The thing about City of Heroes and it being my first MMO is that I was never trapped in a role. Yeah, I may have been the damage dealer, but there was more to what I could do than just hit things like provide buffs for teammates in melee range as a sort of “BE ENCOURAGED BUT STAY BEHIND ME.” A common saying in that game was, “There are no healers.” And theoretically, that was true. With my Ice Emp, she had healing powers thanks to her empathy, but that wasn’t her only role in the group. She was also a powerful ice controller. She could make it very difficult for anything at all to hit you or even approach (LOOK TO THE SKY FOR THE ICE RAIN! THINGS ARE NEVER GONNA BE THE SAME!). Sometimes, people would still try to box empaths into that healing role, but I always showed them WHY we get two classes and not one. I was a fantastic controller and groups often marveled at how well I could control bosses while they killed it. Sometimes, they’d barely need any healing at all because I’d done my job as an ice controller. But I do like to be on the front lines. However, it is sometimes fun to sit back and buff others, but I credit CoH for making me a versatile gamer in MMOs because it forced you to be versatile. And yes, I still tried to tank with my Ice Emp, but mostly with just my friends who knew I liked to hit things.

Mogsy: I’m comfortable in many roles, which is why I have an uber soft spot for hybrid classes. In general though, I also like to hit stuff with a big sword, so you’ll often find me playing the warrior archetype. That also means I’m usually the tank. Being the meatshield can be the greatest feeling in the world when things go right, but when the shit hits the fan, it can also be the most thankless role in the entire game. First of all, you spend 99% of an encounter with the boss’s ugly crotch in your face. And if the group happens to wipe (even when it’s through no fault of your own) the person who gets blamed is almost always the tank. On the one hand, I love being the protector and having the key role in a group (if you go down, everyone else does too, it’s as simple as that). On the other, the pressure that goes hand in hand with the responsibility can sometimes get to me. These days you couldn’t pay me to tank a PuG, because you know what, I could really do without the abuse every single time I don’t do something exactly the way some jackass expects.

Boss crotches don’t get much uglier than this.

How do you know when you’ve found the right group?

Wendy: When my character gets drunk and starts dancing on the table and my group is like “Oh it must be Tuesday.” Or when I’m being all Boss Lady and everyone falls in line because they know that I have put all sorts of effort into organizing these plans and will make sure that everyone benefits in some way–unless they piss me off. Or when I say “Guys, I need some nice boots to go with this outfit, but they are all the way in a high level area that will probably kill us,”and they say, “BRT!” Or it’s New Years and I’m not doing anything and you’re not doing anything and do you want to kill a dragon? That’s when I know I am among my people.

Team Mission Failure: Trying not to die in Mass Effect 3 Mulitplayer

Tiara: When I’m not screaming out in the chat box, “I AM TAKING MY BALL AND GOING HOME,” while rage quitting, then we’ve found a winner. But these days I tend to stick to a select few friends and family as I’ve gotten older and less tolerant of bullshit. I don’t have time for squabbling. I want to smash things, and if you want to smash things, too, we are on the same page and you are welcomed here. Also, any group that lets me spend hours in the costume creator to do these things is a winner (click for better view):

Mogsy: The “right group” for me means I feel comfortable with those I’m playing with. We’ve all heard the horror stories about the greater MMO community at large, but really, the gaming world is made up of some of the best people you’ll ever meet. I’ve made friends for life because I found my perfect group and stayed with them. Whether we’re raiding, goofing off, or just having a dance party, I know I’ll always have a fun time.

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine + GIVEAWAY!

Posted on March 24, 2016 14 Comments

***The giveaway is now over, thanks to everyone who entered!***

If you follow this blog you also probably know by now that Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine was one of my top reads of last year, since I can’t seem to stop raving like a lunatic about this book and shoving it at everyone I know. Well, too bad, because I’m far from done!

On April 5, 2016 Ink and Bone will be released in paperback, and to celebrate it we at The BiblioSanctum are hosting a special edition of #ThrowbackThursday with a review re-post and giveaway. Time to reminisce about all the reasons why I am so in love with this book…

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

Mogsy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of The Great Library

Publisher: NAL (July 7, 2015; Paperback: April 5, 2016)

Length: 351 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

I spent most of the last week bouncing up and down telling everyone I know about Ink and Bone. In case I haven’t already gotten the chance to corner you with my mad ravings about this book, let me just tell you right now: this is an outstanding novel. Needless to say, it is going straight on my Favorites shelf and on my list of best books of 2015. There’s still almost half a year to go but I already know it’ll be hard one to beat. Books of this caliber don’t come along often.

Ink and Bone tells a tale of alternate history. As we all know, the invention of the printing press had an enormous impact on humanity, revolutionizing the way information is acquired, processed, and spread. But what if that never happened? Imagine a world where Johannes Gutenberg’s creation never came to light, a world where great minds like him were systematically silenced every time a new proposal for a method of printing came close to being realized. Imagine no ink plates, no moveable type, no presses – all innovations that were deemed too dangerous by an all-powerful ruling class that seeks to gather and control all knowledge, deciding who should have access to it, how and when.

Jess Brightwell lives in such a world, where the only books that exist are original works or copies painstakingly written out by hand. By law they are all property of the Great Library of Alexandria, that powerful bastion of knowledge that never succumbed to destruction in this reality. The scholars of the Library strictly govern the distribution of books to the public, using a complex alchemical process to deliver content instantly to an individual’s personal Codex or blanks. As a result, traditionally bound books have become very popular on the black market, as has the illegal trade of smuggling them into the hands of private collectors and other rare book hunters. It’s risky, but the Brightwells have prospered in this business, and Jess’ father has decided to take it to the next level by sending his son into the Library’s service, hoping that having an inside man will benefit the family in the long run.

But being a Library servant is a position of prestige, and as such, the trials used to seek out the best of the best are rigorous, brutal, and not always fair. I’ve always been fond of stories about magic schools, but Rachel Caine took the basis of that idea and made it all her own. Together with about two dozen other hopeful postulants, Jess Brightwell travels to the bright, magnificent city of Alexandria, home of the Great Library. Because knowledge is deemed paramount, training doesn’t just involve learning how to run one of the many daughter libraries present in every major city of the world; postulants are also taught to guard and protect it, keeping original works out of the public’s hands even if it means dying for the cause.

As an avid reader, I of course find it difficult to argue with the importance of knowledge. But to place its value above human lives? This should clue you in to the kind of place our protagonist has landed himself, and even with his book smuggling background, Jess is unprepared to learn about the corruption at the heart of Alexandria, or just how deep it lies.

Despite its secrets (or perhaps because of them), the dark underside of the Great Library was a wonder to explore. Imagine a world where the personal ownership of books is forbidden – what a horrifying thought. But the story also appealed to a part of me that understood all too well why some people would resist the rule of the Library, or risk their lives to own a genuine paper book for the chance to hold a hefty volume in their hands, take in the heady scent of age and ink, as well as feel the hard leather of the binding or the crispness of the pages. Ink and Bone had that addictive and intoxicating effect on the delighted bookaholic in me, and I just couldn’t get enough.

The novel is also so much more than that. I’ve never understood what a book hangover felt like until now, wishing I’m still in Jess Brightwell’s world. What Rachel Caine has created here is a rich and vibrant tableau, filled with beauty and amazing wonders but also no shortage of pain and darkness. Scenes of clean and shining Alexandria are juxtaposed by the ugliness of war in England as well as the destructive Greek Fire of the rebel Burners. The same alchemical processes that bring knowledge to the masses are also used to oppress them, keeping a watchful eye out for sedition or powering the nightmarish automatons that guard the Library from its enemies. All told, the world building is phenomenal but so is character development. Jess and his fellow postulants are part of an unforgettable cast, every one of them endearing themselves to me with their unique and individual personalities. Rare is it also to find an adult character in a YA novel as complex as Scholar Christopher Wolfe, who was not at all what I expected, and he quickly became a favorite.

Once I started reading this book, I just couldn’t stop. It has raised the bar for the YA I’ll read for the rest of the year. But it doesn’t matter whether you’re a teen or an adult. Ink and Bone is for everyone, and a must-read for all who treasure the gift of the written word. A perfect mix of breathtaking fantasy and edge-of-your-seat dystopian fiction, this is a masterfully written novel guaranteed to hook you in.

INK AND BONE GIVEAWAY

As you can imagine, I’m crazy excited to be presenting a giveaway for one of my favorite books ever. The BiblioSanctum is pleased to be hosting one print copy of Ink and Bone, up for grabs to one lucky winner. The giveaway is open to residents of the US. To enter, all you have to do is send an email to bibliosanctum@gmail.com with your Name and valid Mailing Address using the subject line “INK AND BONE” by 11:59pm Eastern time on Monday, April 4, 2016.

Only one entry per household, please. The winner will be randomly selected when the giveaway ends and then be notified by email. All information will only be used for the purposes of contacting the winner and sending them their prize. Once the giveaway ends all entry emails will be deleted.

So what are you waiting for? Enter to win! Good luck!

Backlist Burndown: Jaws by Peter Benchley

Posted on March 24, 2016 14 Comments

As book bloggers, sometimes we get so caught up reading review titles and new releases that we end up missing out on a lot previously published books. As a result, one of my goals this year is to take more time to catch up with my backlist, especially in my personal reading pile. And it seems I’m not the only one. Backlist Burndown is a new meme started by Lisa of Tenacious Reader. Every last Friday of the month, she’ll be posting a review of a backlist book and is inviting anyone interested to do the same. Of course, you can also review backlist books any day you want, as often you want, but be sure to watch for her post at the end of the month to link up!

I’m reviewing something a little different for this month…

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Horror, Suspense

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: First published February 1, 1974 by Bantam

Length: 309 pages

Author Information: Website

A whole generation was scared off from swimming in the ocean by the Spielberg film based on this book. Embarrassingly, I have to say my own reaction was even more extreme. It was the early 90s and I must have been about 7 when I watched Jaws for the first time on VHS, and for an entire week I refused baths because I was terrified little great whites were going to pour out of the faucets and eat my face. I was an especially wimpy kid with an overactive imagination.

Anyway, fast forward more than ten years, because that was how long it took before I finally managed to screw up the courage to watch the movie again. By then, I was in college and had forgotten much of what happened in the story, so aside from my memories of a couple horrific iconic scenes that have forever burned themselves into the hard drives of my mind, in many ways it was almost like seeing it for the first time all over again. The difference was, I was no longer a child. And chalk it up to the impatience of my twenty-something-year-old self or the fact that the movie was already more than 30 years old by that point, I realized then how needlessly I’d hyped that experience up for myself. Watching Jaws through fresh eyes, it occurred to me that the movie was actually kind of…boring.

But don’t get me wrong; I’ve certainly come to love the film now that I’m older, because I obviously wouldn’t have bothered to check out the book it was adapted from if I wasn’t such a big fan. So, why have I rambled on and on about movie in this review so far when, really, I should have been discussing the Peter Benchley novel instead? Well, it’s because a lot of things because clearer to me after I read this. Let’s face it, barring a handful of edge-of-your-seat moments in the beginning of the film and of course John Williams’ classic score, things don’t really get going until Brody, Hooper and Quint finally end up on the ocean to hunt that big damn shark. Up until that point, much of it was terribly long and terribly dry, and if I thought that about the slow burn build-up of the movie, a part of me couldn’t help but wonder how I was going to make out with the source material.

Truth is, I ended up being pleasantly surprised. The book kept me thoroughly entertained from start to finish, and not only on account of the differences from the movie. It’s clear to me now that a faithful adaptation wouldn’t have worked at all, because of the much deeper, more profound themes in the novel—which I hadn’t expected at all. Benchley must also have realized that writing a horror/suspense-thriller book about a man-eating shark wasn’t going to be easy, if nothing else because every scene on land was going to require a little something extra. After all, no ocean means no shark, and no shark means no action. In other words, boring.

So, not surprisingly, actual scenes with the shark—or “the fish”, as it was called in this book—were written with this cold and almost detached attitude, leaving readers with no illusions as to its brutal nature, and when it kills, you can bet there’s no skimping on the blood and gore.

But hey, what about when the story isn’t focused on the shark? Well, as a matter of fact, plenty of other things happen, including Mayor Vaughn’s connections to the mafia, and a torrid affair between Brody’s wife and Hooper. Ellen Brody, who was barely an afterthought in the movie, is actually a central character in the novel with a major storyline surrounding her intense longing for the affluent life she led before she got pregnant by Brody, which is why she ended up marrying him and settling in Amity. The overall feel of the book is undeniably more melancholy and mature.

On the flip side, the darker tone meant that we lost much of the bromance that made the movie so enjoyable towards the end, and the characters were all so thoroughly unappealing that more than once I ended up rooting for the shark. The finale was also nowhere near as explosive or satisfying, so ultimately, I think it’s safe to say that while the book wins in some areas, it also loses spectacularly in others.

Still, I have to say reading Peter Benchley’s Jaws was more enjoyable than I thought it would be, especially for an older book that’s so inherently associated with its popular adaptation. I’m guessing if you’re interested in checking it out, it’s because you’re like me—a fan of the movie who was really curious to see what in the novel made it in, what got changed, and what got cut. If you want to get the full picture, this is definitely a must-read.

Excerpt of The Last Girl by Joe Hart + Giveaway!

Posted on March 23, 2016 3 Comments

***The giveaway is now over, thanks to everyone who entered!***

Dystopian fiction might be everywhere these days, but I can never resist a good one. Today we have a giveaway and excerpt to share with you from a book that has been on my radar for a while, and I can’t wait to check it out. Released March 1, 2016 by Thomas & Mercer/Amazon Publishing, The Last Girl is the first book of The Dominion Trilogy, a science fiction thriller series by Joe Hart, available now. First, let’s check out the synopsis:

A mysterious worldwide epidemic reduces the birthrate of female infants from 50 percent to less than 1 percent. Medical science and governments around the world scramble in an effort to solve the problem, but twenty-five years later there is no cure, and an entire generation grows up with a population of fewer than a thousand women.

Zoey and some of the surviving young women are housed in a scientific research compound dedicated to determining the cause. For two decades, she’s been isolated from her family, treated as a test subject, and locked away—told only that the virus has wiped out the rest of the world’s population.

Captivity is the only life Zoey has ever known, and escaping her heavily armed captors is no easy task, but she’s determined to leave before she is subjected to the next round of tests…a program that no other woman has ever returned from. Even if she’s successful, Zoey has no idea what she’ll encounter in the strange new world beyond the facility’s walls. Winning her freedom will take brutality she never imagined she possessed, as well as all her strength and cunning—but Zoey is ready for war.

Why is it that the more scary a dystopian sounds, the more I want to check it out? Be sure read on for the excerpt and the giveaway!

A knock.

“Come in,” she says. The door opens, and Simon stands there in the hallway. He wears his usual Cleric uniform—a black button-up shirt, closed tight at the throat, and dark cargo pants above hiking boots. His handsome features are wrinkled by lines on his forehead as well as on either side of his thin mouth. His dark hair, always combed so carefully to the side, seems to have grayed more at the temples overnight.

He looks at her with eyes very blue against the slate concrete, though there’s a softness to them that always reassures her no matter what’s happening at the moment.

“Good morning, Zoey.”

“Good morning, Simon.”

“You rested well?”

She nods.

“Good. Are you ready for breakfast?”

“Sure.”

He holds the door open for her, letting it coast shut when she steps into the hall, the lock hidden in the frame snapping quietly. They walk slowly down the hallway, their steps nearly matched. How many times have we done this? She could do the math, she supposes, but what purpose would it serve? Because she knows why they do it. It’s the same reason for the calendars in all the rooms, it’s why they’re taught to read the months and days only after the rules are memorized. It’s to add another wall around them, knowing how long they’ve been here doing the same thing day after day.

They near the end of the hall and turn a corner. Zoey glances at their strange, bulbous reflections in the curved mirror mounted near the ceiling. She makes a face at herself. The stairs are ahead of them, but she slows as she sees another Cleric standing outside one of the last doors on the left. He’s younger than Simon, but not by much. He has close-cropped blond hair that reveals his scalp beneath the fluorescent lighting. She knows him as Abbot, but most call him Abe. Zoey stops, and Simon halts as well.

“What’s wrong?” Simon asks.

“I was wondering . . .” She blinks and licks her lips. “I wanted to talk to her before she goes.”

Simon tips his head back, his mouth thinning until it’s only a bloodless line. “Zoey, you know you’re not supposed to speak with her in her room. Especially today.”

“I know. But what will it hurt? She’ll be gone this afternoon, and I won’t see her—” She starts to say ever again but corrects herself. “—for quite a while.” Abe has overheard them talking and is watching Simon, unmoving, unaffected. Simon frowns and glances down the hallway at the domed shape jutting from the ceiling. The cameras are everywhere, their opaque eyes always watching, judging.

“Please,” she says, surprising herself. Simon returns his gaze to her before looking at Abe. Abe shrugs, as if to say Fine with me.

“Only a few minutes,” Simon says.

Abe turns and knocks twice on the door. A murmured reply comes from within, and he holds his bracelet up to the reader beside the lock.

The door clacks, and he opens it for Zoey as she steps past him. The room is a duplicate of her own. There is the desk, the chair, the hateful calendar, and the room’s sole occupant sitting on the bed.

Zoey’s struck, as she always is, by how beautiful Terra can be. Her hair is long and blonde, bordering on white. It is straight and will do almost anything Terra wants it to. Now it’s pulled back from her face, accentuating her long nose, high cheekbones, and dark eyes that Zoey has never seen shine with true surprise until now.

“Zoey, what are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be in my room.” Her voice is commanding and powerful. She stands from the bed and rises a full three inches above Zoey’s height. It’s not so much that Zoey’s short, but more that Terra is tall. Everything about her cries leader, and that’s why Zoey is so afraid.

“I needed to talk to you. Before the ceremony.”

“About what?”

Zoey hesitates, hovering on the brink of an abyss before stepping off.

“Pretend you’re sick,” she says in a low voice. Terra tips her head and squints at her as if she didn’t hear what Zoey said.

“What? Why?”

“So you don’t have to go.”

Terra sighs. “Zoey, we’ve talked about this. You know it’s what we all want. I’ve been waiting for this day for years and years. For . . .”

Terra’s voice falters, and Zoey sees a sheen appear in her eyes. “. . . for as long as I can remember. The Program isn’t something to be afraid of, it’s something to embrace. It’s for the greater good of—”

Zoey turns from her, staring down at the floor, and moves to the desk.

“Please don’t say that to me.”

“Say what?”

“‘The greater good.’ Please don’t say that.”

Terra comes up behind her, places her hands on Zoey’s shoulders. They are strong and sure, radiating strength that seems to be the only thing other than kindness that Terra can produce.

“It’s true, Zoey. Today isn’t something I’m afraid of, and you shouldn’t be afraid either. I’m going to get to see them today. I’m going to see my parents.” Terra’s voice falters again, and Zoey knows that she’s crying behind her, but she can’t bring herself to look at her friend.

“There’s a place outside of these walls that’s safe for us, and after the waiting period I’m going to see it with them.”

Zoey turns then, gazing up at Terra’s tear-streaked face. “I don’t believe it. I think they’re lying to us.”

“How can you say that? They’ve always kept us safe here, sheltered from the plague, those that would hurt us. Why would they protect us
if they were lying?”

Zoey ignores the question. “Pretend to trip, to fall down the stairs. If you’re injured even a little, they’ll send you to the infirmary, and we’ll have a few more days.” Zoey can’t stand the pleading in her voice, but there’s no straining it out.

Terra smiles, and Zoey suddenly hates the expression. It’s full of knowing, and comfort, and regal condescension. “You know I won’t do that. I can’t. Don’t worry, it will only be a little while, and we’ll be in the safe zone together. We’ll get to see Grace and Halie, and we’ll be able to meet each other’s parents.”

Zoey steps away from Terra. “It’s a lie,” she hisses, unable to contain the sudden fury that’s bloomed within her. “I don’t know what’s after induction, but it’s not what they say. It’s all a lie. I can see it on Miss Gwen’s face whenever she tells us about the safe zone. She’s lying, and so is the Director.”

Terra looks like she’s been slapped. One of her hands reaches up to cover her mouth, which has dropped partially open. “Zoey, stop. You don’t know what you’re saying. That’s heresy.”

Zoey shakes her head and realizes she’s trembling all over, like after a long run. “Please, Terra, don’t go.”

Terra draws herself up, becoming once again the leader, the keeper of order that she’s been for the last decade among the other women. Her eyes harden, and she blinks away the last of her tears.

“I love you, Zoey. You’ll see soon that everything is okay. Everything is going to be all right.” Zoey looks at her and feels something shrivel in on itself within her chest.

“Goodbye, Terra,” she says, and moves to the door without looking back.

THE LAST GIRL GIVEAWAY

And now, time for the giveaway! With thanks to the publisher and the wonderful folks at Wunderkind PR, the BiblioSanctum has one print copy of The Last Girl up for grabs. The giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada. To enter, all you have to do is send an email to bibliosanctum@gmail.com with your Name and valid Mailing Address using the subject line “THE LAST GIRL” by 11:59pm Eastern time on Sunday, April 3, 2016.

So what are you waiting for? Enter to win! Good luck!

Waiting on Wednesday 03/23/16

Posted on March 23, 2016 13 Comments

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!

Wendy’s Pick

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic Press: April 26th 2016)

This is the fourth and final book in The Raven Cycle, but as I said in my review of Blue Lily, Lily Blue, I don’t really care of Blue and the Raven boys actually find the Raven King anymore. I just want to spend as much time as I can with Ronan and Noah. But as the title implies, the Raven King is most likely going to show up and ruin my plans.

“All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love’s death. She doesn’t believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.”

Mogsy’s Pick

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Knopf Books for Young Readers: October 18th 2016)

It’s hard to imagine a sequel worthy of the work of art that was Illuminae, but I hope to be surprised again. In spite of the hype, I enjoyed the first book a lot more than I expected, and I have to wonder if the sequel will follow in its footsteps in terms of design and structure, again featuring a huge visual component even though the story will be following two new protagonists.

“Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

Hanna Donnelly is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik Malikov the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own surivival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.“

Novella Review: Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs

Posted on March 22, 2016 15 Comments

Alpha and Omega Genre: Shifters, Paranormal Romance, Novella

Series: Alpha & Omega #0.5

Publisher: Berkeley Books (August 7, 2007)

Information: Website | Goodreads

Tiara’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

I decided to (finally) start Patricia Briggs’ Alpha & Omega series on a whim when I’d finished all the books I’d planned to read for March much earlier than expected. So, I plucked the hardcover for Cry Wolf, which includes this novella, from my shelf and read the introduction by Briggs that mentioned that this series is a spin-off from her Mercy Thompson series. She also explained how this novella was written at the request of her editor. It was supposed to be a standalone for On The Prowl, but she and her editor enjoyed the story so much that it expanded it into a series. She mentions that this novella is somewhat necessary to start the first book, but she felt it would’ve been a disservice to rehash it to start Cry Wolf since some readers would be paying twice for part of the story. It looks like the decision was eventually made to include the novella with the first book after it was done and on shelves. I haven’t started Cry Wolf yet (but I will be as soon as I finish writing this review), so I can’t say whether I agree 100% with her recommendation or not for new readers. However, I can certainly understand why she would recommend reading this novella. I’m not a big fan of novella stories being necessary to a main storyline. In this Briggs’ defense, though, she didn’t expect to make this story a series, but the story decided it wanted to be something more than a novella.

Alpha & Omega starts with Anna, a Chicagoan who’s been living as a werewolf for the past three years, calling the Marrok (not much to go on, but assumingly, he’s over all the wolves in a certain area) in Montana to inform him that her pack leader is responsible for the abduction of a human boy that’s appearing in the local news. Her pack made the boy into a werewolf, but sold him off, which is taboo. In response to Anna’s call, the Marrok sends his son, Charles, to investigate the matter. It’s something like love at first sight between Anna and Charles. Normally, insta-love between two characters can turn me off to a story a little bit, but I think I overlook it more often than not in stories involving shifters, especially since I really did like Anna and Charles together. Anna learns that her pack isn’t exactly doing things by the book when Charles explains to her that she should’ve had a choice in her change. Information and rules were withheld for her and all the newer wolves in her pack. In fact, Charles learns that many things are out of place in Anna’s pack including her role as a submissive wolf. Anna believes herself to be a submissive wolf after dealing with abuse both sexually and physically for the last three years. However, Charles tells her that, while she’s not exactly a dominant wolf, she’s not a submissive wolf either. She doesn’t adhere to the hierarchy as an Omega. She’s a type of wolf that can calm others, a wolf who has some natural ability to make things go smoother in the pack.

If I’m to go by this novella, the Alpha & Omega series will be much more romance focused than Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series. There’s romance in that series, as well, but it’s more of a secondary part of the story. This novella is set solidly in romance and attraction from the first page, especially with Anna dealing with so much hurt. As I mentioned, I really liked Anna and Charles together. I did worry that Anna might turn out to be a bit too timid for my tastes, even though she would have a very good reason to be after withstanding abuse, but I was pleasantly surprised when her character did start breaking out of her shell more as this story progressed. We’ll see where Cry Wolf takes her character. Now, I can see where a series like this and Mercy Thompson with Native American leads who became a shifter much differently than everyone else, at least in Charles’ case (yes, it was based in Native American magic), might be a little problematic with the talk of medicine men and all that. I haven’t read Mercy Thompson in some time, and don’t really remember it being too bad with its handling. However, I am much older now and much more aware of how representation is handled. On one hand, I understand wanting to capture that mysticism, but on the other hand, I also understand why it can be seen as offensive rather than reverent. (See the latest controversy with Rowling trying to write Native Americans.) However, I’ll see how I ultimately feel once I’ve read a full novel.

I wish this story had been a full novel. There were so many things that I feel could’ve been explored in more detail in this story, but maybe some of those things are elements that I’ll find when I start reading Cry Wolf since this story jumpstarts that one. It was definitely an intriguing story that was tinged with some heartbreak due to Anna’s abuse. We’ll see if the first book can keep me hanging on with this series.

Book Review: Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

Posted on March 22, 2016 15 Comments

A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Book 4 of The Others

Publisher: Roc (March 8, 2016)

Length: 416 pages

Author Information: Website

Even before I started this one, I had a feeling something big was coming. For three books now, Anne Bishop has been ramping up the tensions between the Others and the Humans First and Last (HFL) movement, a radical anti-terra indigene group that has been playing with fire since the beginning of this series. All that pent-up rage and energy had to be going somewhere, and that somewhere turned out to be in the pages of Marked in Flesh.

For centuries, a delicate balance has existed between humans and the creatures that inhabited the land before we got here. The Others, who see humans as prey, have only allowed this truce to continue because they benefit from the relationship as well, enjoying the useful trade goods that humans produce from the natural resources that are under terra indigene control. However, the HFL has made it clear that they are tired of this compromise, issuing a warning to all that a reckoning is at hand.

Caught in the middle of this conflict is Lakeside Courtyard and its leader Simon Wolfgard, the wolf shifter. The arrival of a cassandra sangue named Meg Corbyn has done much to alleviate the bad blood between the Others and the humans in this location, creating a relatively safe place for the two groups to get along. But as HFL violence starts spilling into their daily lives, Simon and the rest of the terra indigene will have to take steps to protect their own, and that may lead to some difficult choices.

Marked in Flesh is undoubtedly a turning point for this series, complete with a significant event that draws a line in the sand. Going forward, a lot of the characters will likely be defined by this moment. The world is also forever changed with the awakening of the Elders, which for all intents and purposes are the “super-terra indigene” of The Others universe. These are beings that even the earth natives themselves fear. For all their bluster and rhetoric, HFL is clearly screwed.

Still, these intense circumstances are merely the backdrop for what happens in Lakeside Courtyard, which is where the true interest is. Simon and Meg are again at the center of all this chaos, but there are also a lot of supporting characters to fill out the story. There’s a good number of perspectives to follow, but at this point in the series, I think this broader view is exactly what it needs. The Others is also somewhat of an oddity for me, since it’s one of the rare cases where I love the books but I’m not too crazy about its protagonist. Meg Corbyn hasn’t grown on me, and I feel her lack of agency in her own series continues to be a weak point, even in Marked in Flesh. She makes a bit of progress in this book, seeking other ways for her fellow blood prophets to get by without resorting to cutting, but in the end Meg is still a confused mess, even to herself. I still don’t really understand the reverence the terra indigene have for her. My enjoyment was instead carried by my love for some of the other characters, and so getting a bigger picture from those POVs actually worked well for me.

Of course, a lot happens in this very important volume, and Anne Bishop does not pull any punches. On the other hand, I also couldn’t help but feel that certain things have been dragging out. It took this long for the HFL conflict to finally come to a head, but certain other plot threads are still hanging. Not much progress has been made it comes to the fate of the liberated cassandra sangue, for example. And if there’s ever going to be any romance between Simon and Meg, then it had better come quick. When I look at the two of them now, I don’t see lovers; I see a relationship that reminds me of a child and her dog. Any chemistry between the two of them has been slowly leaking away, and if something doesn’t happen soon, I’m afraid it will fizzle out altogether.

In spite of my misgivings though, I’m still really excited for the future of The Others. It’s typical for urban fantasy series to have their ups and downs, and I feel that Marked in Flesh found a middle ground, holding steady on some plot points while also giving readers a watershed moment that will leave no one unscathed. If nothing else, I think this will set the stage for even greater things to come. I eagerly await the next installment!

More on The BiblioSanctum:
Mogsy’s review of Written in Red (Book 1)
Tiara’s review of Written in Red (Book 1)
Review of Murder of Crows (Book 2)
Review of Vision in Silver (Book 3)

Book Review: Fellside by M.R. Carey

Posted on March 21, 2016 18 Comments

A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Fellside by M.R. Carey

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Horror, Mystery

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Orbit (April 5, 2016)

Length: 496 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

After the brilliant novel that was The Girl with All the Gifts, I swore to myself I would read anything else M.R. Carey writes. Not long after, I was practically beside myself when I found out he was going to be writing a ghost story.

Turns out, Fellside is a very different kind of ghostly tale, and not exactly in the horror vein. Instead, it’s a little bit of mystery, a little bit of paranormal, and even a little bit of court drama, all bundled up in a wonderful package along with Carey’s unique brand of imagination and creativity. The story follows Jess Moulson, a junkie convicted after she set fire to her apartment complex following a heroin bender, accidentally killing her neighbor’s ten-year-old son who was home alone. Even though Jess has no recollection of the events that went down that night, the court ruled it as murder and sentenced her to life in a maximum security prison called Fellside.

Jess is haunted the moment she arrives, not only by the ghost of Alex Beech, the boy she killed, but also by the shame, loneliness and guilt she feels from all the mistakes she made in the past. But instead of plummeting her further into darkness, the spirit of Alex actually rescues her from the abyss and gives her a new sense of hope. Jess immediately makes an enemy of a fellow prisoner named Harriet Grace, the boss of G-Block, when she refuses to run drugs for Grace’s corrupt racket. The road to redemption, Jess believes, is not to commit even more wrongdoings, even though she is aware such attitudes might eventually get her shanked in a place like Fellside. But she has a purpose now, and she is determined to see it through to the end even if it kills her.

In a book like this, there are not a lot of sympathetic characters. In fact, the beginning of Fellside made me boiling mad, and not just because of all the healthcare professionals, prison guards, and other authority figures who were corrupt and/or incompetent, but also because that seemed like such an easy way out for an author to paint someone as a villain. Even someone like Jess took time to grow on me, given the complete and utter disaster she was at the beginning of the story. After all, it is hard to sympathize with someone who has abandoned all hope, becoming entirely convinced of her own worthlessness. However, I now know that Carey set it up this way for a purpose; Jess had to fall far before he could raise her up again and juxtapose that to the new person she becomes. Even so, my favorite characters ultimately came from the most unexpected quarters, mostly minor bit players like Shannon McBride, Fellside’s resident storyteller, or Lorraine Buller, Jess’s taciturn yet compassionate cellmate.

The story also didn’t hook me right away, mostly because of its many moving parts that didn’t all come together until the second half of the novel. I didn’t care much for the humdrum chapters on Harriet Grace’s drug-running ring, for example, at least until that plot thread collided with Jess’s. Things became many times more interesting when the story morphed from a prison drama to a full-blown mystery. While I plodded through the first part of the book, I must have read the last two hundred pages or so in a single sitting, so energized as I was at the plot’s new direction. I definitely found the ending to be stronger than the beginning, even though it started running along a more predictable path. There was a court scene which was especially played up for dramatic effect, but hell, I ate it all up. I could hardly have made myself put down the book by that point.

Even if you enjoyed The Girl with All the Gifts, it’s difficult to say if you’ll enjoy Fellside, simply because the two books are so different. Fellside is not your typical ghost story, more suspenseful rather than creepy, and I can see it appealing more to mystery fans than horror buffs. Still, there are some mirroring themes. As ever, Carey is fond of keeping his readers in the dark right up until he springs the big surprises. And then there are scenes of intense violence, but when all is said and done, we’re also left with a spark of hope.

Finally, of course, there’s the author’s writing itself, which is as bold and hauntingly evocative as I expected. No disappointment there, as far as I’m concerned. If anything, this novel demonstrates Carey’s versatility and my admiration for his talent has actually increased. While it took me some time to warm up to Fellside, I ended up really enjoying the story’s poignant look at life on the inside of a women’s prison, as well as the memorable characters you’ll love to hate and hate to love. Recommended for fans of paranormal mysteries and suspense.

Novella Reviews: Of Sorrow and Such & Lustlocked

Posted on March 20, 2016 17 Comments

Review copies were provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Of Sorrow and Such by Angela Slatter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Tor.com (October 13, 2016)

Length: 149 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

This is the first time I’ve read Angela Slatter, and now she’s gained herself another fan. Of Sorrow and Such is probably my favorite Tor.com novella of the ones I’ve read so far, a compact little tale that packs no small amount of emotional punch in spite of its length.

In a small fictional village in a world reminiscent of Europe in the Middle Ages lives a witch called Mistress Patience Gideon. Ostensibly, she’s just a local healer eking out a simple yet comfortable life taking care of the village’s sick and injured, but in truth Patience possesses power magic that she must keep hidden lest her secrets are discovered by the church and she is burned at the stake.

On the surface, this story might strike a familiar chord, but in time a rich complexity emerges. Of Sorrow and Such is beautifully told, with an attention to detail that often get overlooked in shorter works. I was really impressed with the depth of feeling and the intense atmosphere that came through in Slatter’s simple but elegant writing, which has this way of stripping away all the chaff to get to the raw core of what really matters. As a result, there’s almost no slowing down in Patience Gideon’s tale. We have plenty of suspense, though perhaps not in a traditional sense; rather, Slatter’s plotting is just so tight that almost every scene is charged with a strong feeling of involvement and agency.

That said, there’s also just the right amount of emotion to give this story a life of its own. I adored its themes of love and hatred, loyalty and betrayal, and of the deep yearning for things that can destroy you. It’s about the sacrificing something important to you for a cause greater for yourself, and it’s about the courage and the strength of a woman who will not be cowed. The characters in this novella are vividly drawn, showing the multi-faceted nature of both protagonists and villains. Patience feels genuine to the reader, the kind of person who is capable of great kindness, but within her also lies a terrible wrath one would do well not to underestimate.

This is just overall a wonderful story featuring great female characters and some very interesting relationships between them. Throw in Slatter’s delectable writing and a setting permeated with atmosphere and magic, and you have yourself a winner in your hands. I’m really pleased with how well it all came together. Highly recommended.

Lustlocked by Matt Wallace

Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Book 2 of Sin du Jour

Publisher: Tor.com (January 26, 2016)

Length: 224 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

After the rip-roaring fun of Envy of Angels, I just couldn’t wait to be back in Bronko’s kitchen with all the gang. This time, things are really heating up as Matt Wallace serves up another course of humor-laden fare in Lustlocked, the second novella in the Sin du Jour series.

Having proved themselves on their first job, Lena and Darren are subsequently offered full-time employment by executive chef Byron “Bronko” Luck. Now all they have to do is survive the probationary period, which isn’t as easy as it sounds, given the unusual nature of the catering company at which they work. Sure enough, no sooner have the junior chefs signed their names to the contract than Sin du Jour receives their next big gig—a goblin royal wedding.

Unlike the mischievous, ugly and stooped creatures of folklore, Matt Wallace’s goblins are actually beautiful and talented beings, which explains why so many of them have found success in Hollywood and the music industry. It’s a star-studded night as all the goblin guests show up to the celebrations, excited to see their prince tie the knot with a human woman. As usual though, nothing at Sin du Jour ever goes as planned, and before long, giant lusty lizards are running amok through the wedding party, trying to have sex with everyone and everything. Let this one be a cautionary tale for us all: magic and love don’t always mix.

Like the previous book, Lustlocked is another rollicking romp into the culinary world, urban fantasy style. Once again, our characters are thrown into the zaniest and most absurd situations you can think of, playing up the action and the laughs. Compared to the Envy of Angels though, the plot feels much simpler and less adroit, giving this sequel novella a throw-away vibe which leads me to believe that it won’t stay with me as long. That said, I still had a great time with the story, which is no less entertaining for being shorter and less complex.

In fact, pacing is helped by the narrower focus, and we also don’t jump around as much following multiple groups of characters in different places. While Envy of Angels featured several side plots starring the Sin du Jour’s stocking and receiving department, the adventures of Ritter, Cindy, Hara and Moon are more integrated in Lustlocked. Fans of this unforgettable foursome need not fret though, for Matt Wallace makes it up to us by including a bonus story called Small Wars at the end of this novella. This was a free short published at the Tor.com website, revealing the origins of the team by explaining how they were all recruited and brought together by Ritter.

If a couple hours with a bite-sized, light-hearted urban fantasy novella sounds like a good time to you, then you need to check out the Sin du Jour series. Already I am excited for the next book Pride’s Spell, which promises to be even more wild and bizarre. At this point, anything can happen…and you can bet I’m looking forward to the insanity.

More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Envy of Angels (Book 1)

Audiobook Review: Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Posted on March 20, 2016 11 Comments

b3736-writteninred Genre: Urban Fantasy, Shifters

Series: The Others #1

Publisher: ROC (January 3, 2012)

Information: Website | Goodreads

Tiara’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Narrator: Alexandra Harris | Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins | Audiobook Publisher: Penguin Audio (March 5, 2013) |Whispersync Ready: Yes

Written in Red takes the traditional shifter story and turns it on its head a bit. It starts with a brief history of the world. The goddess-like Namid created humans, gave them a fertile piece of herself, and kept them isolated from her other children. However, her human children became smarter. They began to innovate and spread until they pushed into the wild regions and encountered Namid’s other children. The Others, as these non-humans came to be known, didn’t accept humanity with open arms. They saw food, and they had the strength to enforce their dominance. This is the point where typically the humans would prevail over all odds in most stories, but instead, Bishop decides to take the alternative path. The Others have a strong hold on humanity. Humanity created things that could aid their fight and advance civilization, but the Others ruled over the resources they needed to create. Humans are only as useful as the things they create, making them “useful meat.” Larger cities have Courtyards, which are fenced communities where the Others live to make sure that humans keep agreements made between the two groups.

Fast forward to the present day, sweet, unassuming Meg Corbyn is a cassandra sangue (blood prophet) escaping the compound where women and girls like her are held. They have the unique ability to see prophesies if their skin is precisely cut. They live a sterile life inside a compound. They know things, but those things are disconnected from what use they could be to them. It isn’t until Meg endures a punishment for deceiving one of the compound’s clients that she’s able to use the images in her visions to make an escape. She finds refuge in the Lakeside Courtyard run by Simon Wolfgard, an Other with the ability to shift between wolf and human. He’s confused by her because she doesn’t hold the prey scent. This bothers him, as well as the fact that he knows she’s hiding something, but he still allows her to become the Human Liaison for the Courtyard. Meg knows it’s only a matter of time before her Controller finds her and tries to take her back to the compound. Her safest option is staying with the Others who cow before no human.

“… a cancer of this planet,” said the Others.

The Lakeside Courtyard is more progressive with how it interacts with humans, but Meg’s presence allows for a stronger trust to form between the humans and the Others. While the Others are certainly imposing, they’re not nearly as cunning as humans who have perfected lying and betrayal, something that doesn’t come easily for the Others (aside from maybe a group of them) who are mostly upfront. This may be because they are the apex predators in the story and have no need to for that type of dishonesty. The Others who choose to interact with humans are only slowly coming to realize that humans do share some of their base level emotions when confronted with things such as triumphs and injustices. Despite taking human forms, they’re only simulating humanity to the best of their abilities. They don’t understand many aspects of human life, and tidbits of useful wisdom about humans are imparted on them throughout the story, which in turns makes them begin to see them as more than just prey.

The story of how humans and the Other co-exist is a fascinating one, and while there isn’t a ton of back to back action in this like you might find in most urban fantasy, there’s plenty of delicious world-building as you get a feel for this. I found the various types of shifters fascinating, especially the avian shifters (Crowgard, Hawkgard, Owlgard). The narrator used a distinct speaking rhythm for them that made them instantly likable, especially the Crowgard who are as impish and intelligent as their animal counterparts. Even though the crows’ obsession with shiny things is a myth, I still couldn’t help being entertained by it being used in throughout the story. The vampires in the story are a mash-up of dated B-movie tropes, but they still add to the story in their own kitschy way, even if I did keep imagining Nyx (one of the vampires) as Morticia Addams.

Completely accurate representation of Nyx.

I thought it was great storytelling to have the shifters proud and in control. They’re not hiding who they are. They’re not holding control by working behind the scenes while humans remain oblivious. They’re not ruled by human laws and integrated into human society because they have to be. It was heartening to see humans and the Lakeside Courtyard accomplishing so much together as they learned to trust each other more, even if the catalyst is Meg’s sweetness. They’re not giving up control, but choosing to explore ways that humans and Others can continue to live together with more mutual trust and respect. Trust and respect are hard for both sides given their histories.

Having Meg squeak and stumble around while everyone felt the need to baby her was disappointing, though. I’m not saying that I needed her to be some superwoman who could handle anything because rounded female characters aren’t just the ones who can hang with the big boys, but it’s unfortunate when a character like Meg, a character that I could like wholeheartedly, isn’t allowed much agency. Instead, she has all these supposedly intimidating, scary shifters deciding that she’s too precious for this world and they have to protect her at all costs. That’s all fine and good, but where is her growth as a character around all this white knighting? Then, there’s the whole “sweet blood” thing and the changing so many aspects of their life to accommodate her. That’s why I preferred the character Monty in this case of showing how both humans and Others could actually have some sort of relationship. He’s a human in the story who smells like prey unlike Meg. For that reason, he’s not given automatic trust as Meg is, but because of his positive interactions with the Others, concessions and considerations are made for him, as well, because they start to see him as more than prey and even “useful meat.” That felt more believable considering the circumstances. That brings me to my next point.

The Others aren’t as scary as I think Bishop intended them to be (at least, not to me, YMMV). Yes, they’re intimidating. However, they’re not out of control. They’re not unreasonable. There’s talk of killing and eating people, but how often does that happen to someone who hasn’t threatened them in some way? Any other threat to people who do something minor that might offend them isn’t followed through with in this story, even if it’s mentioned things happened in the past. They make noise and scare the humans who interact with them away when riled up, but most of those humans come right back when they’ve settled down and it’s business as usual. Hell, even in the more secluded places where humans and the Others have to live without the separation and relative safety of a Courtyard, I didn’t get the impression they’re just gobbling down humans because they’re prey, except for maybe the wild ones. In any event, I’m not really afraid for the humans whose intentions aren’t ill, even with these parameters in place. The book tries to make me feel a dread that I just can’t dredge up because I don’t feel like there will be any follow-through with the threats for the humans who aren’t trash.

Not scary much like the Others.

Also, For the Others to be so fiercely independent and in control, some of them sure accepted the idea of having human law enforcement around and involved in certain incidents very quickly. Not only that, but once Meg was around, it seemed that they, even some of the Others who didn’t seem like they interacted with humans much if at all, were more accepting of other humans even humans they interacted with outside of the Courtyard’s regulars. I would’ve expected much more resistance. I understand that the Courtyard is trying to be more tolerant of humans, but given their history and how the book presented relations, that still seems like a bit of a stretch. I guess that HLDNA (Human Law Does Not Apply) sign amounts to about a hill of beans in most scenarios.

However, those aren’t things that hampered my enjoyment of the story. It was just a few things I noted while reading. Those things are not necessarily deal breakers, and they certainly won’t make me hesitate when picking up the next book. I just wanted to expound on the reason why they made me quirk my eyebrow a bit. Other than that, I thought this story was excellent.The narration for this book really added to my enjoyment. Alexandra Harris’ is exceptional. She captured the innocent vulnerability of Meg well, and I enjoyed the voices she used for the different animal gards and the Sanguinati. She does have a voice that can come off very young sounding, which can make the story feel a bit juvenile in places, but I still would highly recommend this audiobook for readers who enjoy audiobooks.

I’m anxious to find out what happens next. This makes it hard to stick to my reading plans, and I think I might have to make an exception for this series. I’m almost sad it took me this long to start this series.