The BiblioSanctum

Wendy’s Book Haul: Shopping Spree

Posted on November 19, 2013 Leave a Comment

I recently made some silly statement about new year’s resolutions and how I was not going to buy any more books in 2014. My TBR pile is too high and I must get through those first before I succumb to further flirtations from BookOutlet and Amazon. Apparently, my resolution plans do not take into account all the goodies I’ll end up scoring between now and year’s end….

I ended up at BookOutlet after Mogsy’s five star review of Starhawk, but sadly, they did not have any other books in Jack McDevitt’s Academy series. But I couldn’t very well leave the site without checking my wish list and oh look at all the books available: Shade’s Children, Path of Beasts, In the Night Garden and King of Thorns in hardcover are now miiiine.

…Saving $47 on books I didn’t intend to buy? Priceless (well, maybe not…)

Then, less than an hour after placing that order, a belated birthday present arrived – a gift certificate for Chapters. I pre-ordered Words of Radiance, which felt right after my The Way of Kings bookflail and then went all in on making 2014 the year of The Witcher.

Book Review: Knife Sworn by Mazarkis Williams

Posted on November 18, 2013 Leave a Comment

Knife Sworn by Mazarkis Williams

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Book 2 of The Tower and Knife Trilogy

Publisher: Jo Fletcher

Date of Publication: October 25, 2012

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars – “Gorgeous writing and strong characters in this intriguing sequel; you won’t want to miss this”

The Tower and Knife series continues with Knife Sworn, and the second book is as full of magic, intrigue and beauty as the first — if not even more so! One might be tempted to stop with The Emperor’s Knife, its story having wrapped up so nicely at the end after all, with Sarmin coming into his own and the Pattern Master vanquished forever. But trust me, you won’t want to miss this.

The events at the end of The Emperor’s Blade saw Prince Sarmin free at last, taking his place on the throne after years of being locked up in a tower. Mesema, the girl sent from the horse tribes is now his wife and empress, and has just given birth to a boy. However, Sarmin’s own mother the Empire Mother Nessaket has also just recently borne a son, throwing the matter of succession into question. And as the first book has shown, too many boys with royal blood at the palace has always led to bad news.

On top of this, Sarmin has been suffering from memory lapses and getting pressure from his advisers to name a new royal assassin, or a knife-sworn. He’s also just received an unwanted gift of a harem of concubines, which he suspects is actually harboring a spy. There are only a few people close to Sarmin he can trust, and with the births of the princes and the arrival of a Yrkman peace convoy, they become more important to him than ever before.

First and foremost of these characters is Grada, whom we met in The Emperor’s Knife and has since become one of Sarmin’s closest companions and his trusted investigator. I mentioned in my review of the first book that out of all the points-of-view featured, my favorite one was Mesema’s. In Knife Sworn, she takes on a less central role, but in her place Mazarkis Williams has given us the narratives of three other women, all strongly characterized and well-written. I’ve already mentioned Grada, whose complex past and warring emotions made her the most interesting person in the book. There’s also Nessaket, who was almost a villain in my eyes in The Emperor’s Knife, but in Knife Sworn I actually sympathized with her. And finally, my favorite character in this book was Rushes, the slave girl who instantly endeared me to her with her good heart.

Mazarkis Williams’ writing is also in a league of its own, invoking such powerful and vivid imagery. It has been many, many months since I read The Emperor’s Knife, but I still remember a certain scene involving blooming flowers in the desert, which Williams had brought to life with exquisite attention to detail. The writing was simply beautiful, and it is even more so now in Knife Sworn since the storytelling has become cleaner and more robust. It’s the prime reason why I enjoyed this sequel even more than the first book; in The Emperor’s Knife I sometimes found myself lost in terms of which character I was supposed to be following or trying to figure out where I was. I experienced none of that here, in the smooth flowing pace and structure of Knife Sworn.

The author has also ramped up the intrigue. If that was your favorite part of the first book, you will not be disappointed here. Conspiracies, secret agendas and betrayals abound, with twists thrown in. Almost everyone can be seen as a friend or a foe, depending on whose perspective you’re following. I read this book much faster than I expected, because I wanted badly to see what certain characters would do.

The only thing I would have liked to see more of in Knife Sworn is the magic. Specifically, I wouldn’t have minded a bit more about how it works; the first book introduced a very interesting system involving relationships between mages and spirits, and it was one of the coolest ideas I’ve ever come across in fantasy. Mages didn’t play as big a role in this one, though with the emergence of a new magical threat to the empire, I hope the third book will offer a deeper and more detailed look at the magic of this world.

On that note, The Tower Broken will be coming out very soon! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

4 of 5 stars

A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Graphic Novel Review: Catwoman Volume 1: The Game by Judd Winick and Guillem March

Posted on November 17, 2013 Leave a Comment

Catwoman, Vol. 1: The Game by Judd Winick and Guillem March

Series: Collects Catwoman #1-5
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: May 22, 2012

This isn’t exactly the Catwoman I wanted to learn about, but I do like her and I can see her learning to become the woman Batman loves and respects, once she figures out the baggage she’s hanging on to.

4 of 5 stars

A lot of controversy surrounded Catwoman’s reboot as part of DC’s New 52. Along with Starfire’s questionable outfits, sexuality and posing, Catwoman’s raunchy, angry sex with Batman, culminating in this splash page, DC successfully offended many of their established readers.

I have always liked Catwoman (and totally ship her with Batman,) though I’d never followed her titles. The New 52 gave me an opportunity to finally get to know her properly, though I understand in reading it, why former fans of the character would be offended. Selina Kyle is no longer the lady whom Batman both loved and respected. Now she’s a reckless 22-year-old who keeps walking the edge that will get her, or worse, someone she cares about, killed. Batman is determined to stop her – to save her from herself – if only she weren’t so damn enticing.

Catwoman is also very angry and very violent in this incarnation. It was the violence of the story that caught my attention more than the (gratuitous) sex splash page. In fact, that angry Bat/Cat sex is all part of this new, angrier Selina persona. This isn’t exactly the Catwoman I wanted to learn about, but I do like her and I can see her learning to become the woman Batman loves and respects, once she figures out the baggage she’s hanging on to.

I’m happy with the way she handles Batman. He’s a strong influence in her life and I assume he’ll continue to show up from time to time (well, it’s Batman and if there’s one thing common to just about every book in the New 52, it’s that Batman needs to stick his pointy ears in every one of them), but it becomes clear that she’s not one of the many problems that the great detective can solve, no matter how much he wants to.

The art is slick, perfectly capturing the agility and expressions of the character. I loved the use of reflection in many scenes, allowing the focus to remain on Catwoman and her reactions.

Without getting into spoilers, I was somewhat disappointed with the treatment of a certain character who was very important to Selina. It upset me enough not to want to actively pursue the series. However, I recognize the purpose of the particular plot device and appreciate where things ended up at the end, implying that maybe Catwoman will begin to learn the lesson Batman is trying to get through her head.

Mogsy’s Book Haul

Posted on November 16, 2013 Leave a Comment

The year’s NaNoWriMo has been going great so far; I’ve been keeping up with my word count every day and have on a several occasions even managed to churn out a review or two for the site. Which is nice because I’ve received some amazing books for review in the last two weeks.

Allegiance – courtesy of Tor, the final and third book, actually, of Beth Bernobich’s River of Souls trilogy which I’ve heard a lot about but have never gotten a chance to read. I may have to remedy that.

Knife Sworn and The Tower Broken – from Jo Fletcher, the follow-up books to Mazarkis Williams fantastic debut The Emperor’s Knife. I’ve just finished Knife Sworn and loved it, so keep an eye out for the review on Monday, and I can’t wait to get to book 3.

Hell Bent – I’ve always wanted to check out Devon Monk’s books, and I finally got the chance to do it with Hell Bent, the first book of her new urban fantasy series spun off from her Allie Beckstrom books. Like I said in my review, I think it’s off to a good start.

Vicious – with thanks to Pabkins from MyShelfConfessions, I finally got a chance to read this book, which everyone is raving about! As well they should! It was fantastic.

Iron Night – the sequel to M.L. Brennan’s Generation V and it was INCREDIBLE. A full review will have to wait until closer to the release date, but this one was one of my most highly anticipated novels of the new year and it was everything I hoped for an more!

The digital pile:

The Daedalus Incident and Ice Forged – two books that I’ve had my eye on for a long time, and mashing the “1-click” buy button was practically instinctual when I saw these as Kindle deals on their respective days. Subsequently, so was picking up their Whispersync audiobooks at the greatly reduced price.

Cold Magic and The Innocent Mage – and while on the topic of audiobooks, the Audible matchmaker tool is like the most evil thing ever. Running my Kindle library through the thing alerted me to some of my older ebook purchases that now have Whispersync enabled audiobooks. Some of them were at $2-3 a pop, which is how I ended up with these two new titles in audio format.

The Emperor’s Blades -I’d just gotten my NetGalley stats back up past 80% this summer, but since then I’ve made a few new requests. I really should be polishing off books I already have but I couldn’t resist when I saw this one. Another one of my most highly anticipated books of the new year, and I’d been waiting patiently for it to go up on NG for a long time. Tor has so many great books coming out in the coming months, they are killing me!

Review Bites: Fairy Tales

Posted on November 16, 2013 Leave a Comment

Disney and the hit series, Once Upon A Time, keep fairy tales at the forefront of current pop culture, yet these stories have been around since forever and many other storytellers have had their fun with them along the way.

Fearie Tales returns fairy tales to their roots, reminding us that these stories were originally not intended for children – unless you want to scare the crap out of them and make sure they don’t do as their told lest the monster in the closet eat their toes. Like the Brothers Grimm, this anthology collects fairy tales, specifically focusing on the darker aspects. The original stories are juxtaposed with variations by some of favourite authors including Garth Nix, Neil Gaiman, Michael Marshal Smith and more. I wouldn’t necessarily say the stories are as gruesome as the cover suggests. “Haunting” is a more effective word that describes some of my favourite tales, such as Open Your Window, Golden Hair by Tanith Lee, a disturbing take on the story of Rapunzel. When paired with the absolutely creepy illustrations by Alan Lee, I may have found myself checking under the bed once or twice while reading this…

With thanks to Jo Fletcher Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a fan of Once Upon A Time, which inspired me to finally get on with reading Fables. For those who still believe that Once is a rip off of Fables, be sure to check out Bill Willingham’s interview with Bill Willingham to learn the error of your ways. There certainly are similarities, considering they are both pulling from the same source materials, but both stand quite well on their own.

Fables Volume 1: Legends in Exile takes place in New York, centuries after the fairy tale characters we know and love or hate have been run out of town by the Adversary. Those who look human remain within the city, while the others live in the more rural areas. There is an amnesty in place that has absolved everyone of past sins. Snow White more or less runs things, but when her sister, Rose Red, goes missing under violent circumstances, she is forced to team up with Bigby Wolf, resident detective, to find her sister and the culprit.

As an introductory story, the mystery allows the reader to meet many of the characters and discover how author Bill Willingham has made each of them adjust to this new life. The result is some really interesting characters and relationships and yes, I am already shipping Wolf and Snow. Whut? The mystery itself plays out like a good old fashioned ’80s murder mystery, complete with Wolf indulging in a big reveal at the end. It’s wonky, but I’ll give it a pass because I’m already impressed with the concept and the characters. And oh look, The Wolf Among Us game is available on Steam…

Grimm Fairy Tales is a great example of “don’t judge a book by its cover” even when the covers of these graphic novels make such an effort to ensure that you judge them. Scantily clad fairy tale ladies adorn each cover, posed provocatively, trapped in precarious situations, tormented by evils. How good could this comic really be? Based on these covers alone, I figured I was in for a laugh in reading this. I was pleasantly surprised to find just how deceptive the covers are.

Each story starts in the real world with a young woman facing a serious problem in her life, such as a boyfriend who shuns her for not putting out, a partner who wants her to abort a baby when she doesn’t. It even surprised me by focusing on a male protagonist who is smitten by a girl who is obviously using him. Each protagonist stumbles across a mysterious woman and or her mysterious book of fairy tales and turns to a page with a relevant story to help them come to a decision about their future. The tales follow the standard story, but then offer some intriguing twists that offer a moral punch.

Despite the covers, there are no buxom babes prancing around in corsets and fishnets in the stories. Other than the occasional cleavage, everyone is appropriately dressed and none of the women are taken advantage of beyond the constraints of their respective fairy tales.

I’d originally decided to read this along side Fables thinking it would prove to be an amusingly poor comparison, but I ended up discovering something surprisingly interesting that wasn’t as bad as it appeared to be.

Book Review: Hell Bent by Devon Monk

Posted on November 15, 2013 Leave a Comment

Hell Bent by Devon Monk

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of Broken Magic

Publisher: Roc

Date of Publication: November 5, 2013

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars – “Action-filled and suspenseful start to a new spinoff series set in the Allie Beckstrom universe. Looking forward to more!”

While it’s true I’ve never read anything by Devon Monk before this, her name had been on my reading list ever since her Age of Steam books first caught my eye. I wasn’t aware that she was working on something else, which explained my surprise when I saw that she had a first book of a new Urban Fantasy series out this month. You know me, I can never pass up a chance to read new UF! The fact that I’ll also finally get to check out a book by Devon Monk was also very exciting.

Hell Bent is the book in question, starring the jaded Shamus “Shame” Flynn as the main protagonist and narrator. Being a special kind of magic user called a Breaker, Shame along with his Soul Complement Terric Conley have the ability to “break” magic, channeling it in its full force. Thing is, Shame’s magic is Death and Terric’s is Life, and both are constantly engaged in a struggle against their power, which can consume them if they’re not careful. In Shame’s case, he has to remain control of himself at all times, lest his Death magic harms others arround him.

In a world where the power of magic has become so diminished, the Breakers immediately become targets when secrets behind their abilities leak out and become known to the government. A group of Breakers, including Shame and Terric, choose to stay and fight on home ground. But then, people with magic in their pasts start disappearing and dying — people close to Shame and his friends. Then, beautiful and mysterious Dessa breezes into his life asking for help to find her brother’s killer, making Shame realize the extent of the threat if the Breakers’ secrets fall into the wrong hands.

Almost right away, I had to do a double-take of the blurb on the cover, to make sure I was indeed reading the first book of a new series. I had that strange feeling of being dropped into the middle of a a situation, much like walking into a theater fifteen minutes after the movie had already started. The world of the book had an “established” feel to it already, as well as a community of characters firmly set in place, described in a way that made me feel I should already know them. I did some research and that was how I ultimately came to discover Devon Monk’s other Urban Fantasy series, the Allie Beckstrom books. I don’t know how I managed to completely miss the boat on this series, because there are nine books all together and they were pretty popular, but I soon found out that Hell Bent is actually the first book of a spinoff. Which explains a lot!

With that mystery out of the way, I have to say that while those familiar with Allie Beckstrom will probably find a lot more to be excited about in this book, it was nevertheless a pretty fun ride for a newcomer like me too. Yes, I felt a little lost at first, but that was mostly due to my own compulsive desire to find out everything about the world and the relationships between all the members of this tightly-knit group of magic users (that is, nothing all that pertinent to understanding the story). The details that were important, on the other hand, were all there, so readers new to this world need not fear. If you’re anything like me, you might even feel the urge to pick up the Allie Beckstrom novels. Indeed, my curiosity led me to add Magic to the Bone to my reading list, because I was just too intrigued by all the mentions and references to people and events in this previous series.

One thing I wasn’t too sure of about this book was how I felt about the main character. I can tell Devon Monk is a talented writer from the way she has crafted this indepth and fully fleshed-out personality for Shamus Flynn. The problem is, that personality is a very caustic one. I’m used to reading Urban Fantasy starring snarky characters, but Shame’s brand of snark was tinged with a little too much hostility for my tastes. Right from the start, I could tell he has a massive chip on his shoulder. Not that he doesn’t have a good excuse, being Death Magic incarnate and all, but at times his angst would reach levels I could barely tolerate. It took me a while to warm up to him, when the story got going and the goodness in him eventually made itself known. He also has an unconventional way of showing that he cares, which actually won him points from me. Plus, I enjoyed his brutal and no-nonsense methods of payback. For a character I downright disliked at the beginning, he certainly has a way of turning things around and making me change my mind.

The final point I want to bring up involves the romance. Devon Monk did a fantastic job building it up and carrying it out, making it emotionally impactful for the reader. But for whatever reason, it just didn’t work for me. Shame and Dessa were great together, but the way their relationship was written and presented somehow gave me the feeling like it was shoehorned into the story to make a point. It’s definitely not a dealbreaker, but I do prefer it when a romance develops more realistically between two characters, especially in this case when things happen so quickly.

Despite being slightly disappointed at how the story was left wide open for the next book (not all the loose ends were tied up nicely), I did enjoy how this one ended. The climax was action-filled and suspenseful, leaving me excited to find out what will happen next. Hell Bent did its job as a good teaser and gave me a taste of what to expect, and I have a feeling I’ll probably like the second Broken Magic book even more. I can definitely see Stone Cold in my future, not to mention the Allie Beckstrom series as well!

3.5 of 5 stars

A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: False Covenant by Ari Marmell

Posted on November 14, 2013 Leave a Comment

False Covenant by Ari Marmell

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: Book 2 of Widdershins Adventures

Publisher: Pyr

Date of Publication: June 26, 2012

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars – “Series gets better the more I read; emotionally impactful and filled with suspense, this book kept me on my toes by raising the stakes and taking things to the next level”

First let me begin this review by stating how much I liked the first book of the Widdershins Adventures series, Thief’s Covenant. That, however, still left me quite unprepared for how much I enjoyed this book, its follow-up. To be honest, I’m still reeling from the ending, and feeling not just a little bit heartbroken, but only because of how the story impacted me so emphatically. A book that makes me feel like this, even if it’s like a punch in the gut, surely deserves my admiration and compliments!

But more on that later, after I revel in how much fun it was to return to Davillon, catching up with Widdershins and her friends. The events of the last book have not left our protagonist in a very good place, however. The guilt over the deaths of two people close to her still weighs on her conscience, and she has taken to thieving again in order to support the beloved tavern she inherited. The minor god Olgun, whose worshipper-base consists of only Widdershins, is still a constant presence in her life, enhancing her abilities to sneak and steal.

Then, reports start coming in about a creature of nightmare stalking the streets. At first, no one is hurt, but soon the attacks turn deadly. The city guard are baffled and are in way over their heads. And as much as Widdershins would like to stay out of it, trouble always ends up finding her. Drawn into a battle against a supernatural terror, she must use all her wits to save her friends and Davillon against the greatest threat the city has ever faced.

That I liked this book more than the first one is probably an accurate assessment. Don’t get me wrong, Thief’s Covenant was no slouch, but there were some slow parts I had to get through before I started warming up to it. I guess one advantage of subsequent books in a series is that the story can start right away, without having to go through all the motions of explaining background or character history. Unlike my experience with the first book, I was drawn in by False Covenant almost as soon as I started.

Also, I think I remember calling this a “cute” series. Time for me to re-evaluate that, perhaps. Not that there aren’t a lot of light moments in these books; I still find lots to laugh about, especially in Widdershin’s fiery and impulsive personality, not to mention her humorous banter with Olgun. Once again, Ari Marmell does a fantastic job pulling off their strange relationship as well as the their conversations that to all outward appearances seem one-sided. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of those scenes, which are an endless source of entertainment!

However, there’s a darkness to this series as well, which I’m just now starting to fully realize and appreciate. False Covenant strikes a good balance between that and the lightness, injecting mystery and even a bit of horror into the story. I found myself downright creeped out at times. This second book really raises the stakes, taking things to the next level and keeping you on your toes because you never know what might happen next. Ari Marmell doesn’t pull any punches here.

Speaking of which, the ending. Ugh. It’s hard merely thinking about it let alone having to write about it, which is just as well because I wouldn’t want to spoil anything. Definitely, the characterization has gotten a lot better, and I feel a connection to Widdershins, feeling as she does about the other characters around her whether they are friend, foe, or not-sure-which. The book keeps you guessing, while still developing those character relationships and even some romance. It was all very engaging, which is why I find myself now still feeling so stunned. Those final scenes were phenomenally well done and suspenseful, and the way things ended was totally unexpected.

This seems to be one of those series that gets better the more I read. I’m so glad I caught up in time for the third book coming out in December, because now I can’t wait to see what comes next.

4.5 of 5 stars

A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Guest Post: I am an indie author, and proud of it

Posted on November 13, 2013 Leave a Comment

A BiblioSanctum Guest Post by Ramsey Isler

I am an indie author, and proud of it.

I’ve been in the independent publishing game for a few years now, and I’ve watched the industry grow more respectable. In the past, when I’d meet people and tell them that I self-published, they just assumed my book was crap. Now, some of those same people assume I’m pulling in Amanda Hocking money. But we indie scribes still have a bit of stigma attached to what we do; we’re still trying to garner as much street cred as indie musicians or film makers, but we’re making great strides.

Many people ask me why I decided to go this route. To answer that question, let me take you back to 2011 when I’d just finished my first novel, The Remortal. I did what most eager authors do; I pitched it to literary agents and editors. I sent off my carefully crafted queries and manuscripts, and waited. Days turned into weeks, then weeks turned into months. Then the rejections started filtering in.

It was disheartening at first, even though I had prepared myself for the inevitable flood of terse-but-polite “No thanks” messages. Then, something interesting happened. The rejections changed to more personal, customized messages. People were actually enjoying the book, but deciding that it “wasn’t right for the market right now”. The theme was no longer “No thanks”. It had changed to, “This is good but I don’t know if I can sell it.” This continued for weeks, and then on one fateful day a New York editor sent me an email saying he really liked my book and felt it could potentially be a commercial hit if I just did two things: change my main character from a young man to a young woman, and introduce a love triangle.

I refused, of course. I had no interest in changing my work so dramatically, and I have a great personal distaste for the love triangle trend in young adult fiction these days. I was dejected once again. This respected editor and former agent liked my work, but he still wanted to tweak it to fit “the market”. It took me a few days to get over it, but then I realized something — he did actually really like the book. He had said it could potentially be a hit. The problem wasn’t the words I’d written, it was the “market” I was trying to break into.

So I decided to find my own market. I would go indie. Buck the trends. Self-publish.

How is it going so far? It’s the hardest, most educational, most depressing, most fulfilling thing I’ve done. There are days when I do wonder if there are better things I could be doing with my time. It’s an immense amount of work, and when the writing is finished that’s when the real effort begins. The process of marketing the work is the tough part. Creating something is only half the battle. The other half is finding people who care about it.

But that process of finding your audience, tough as it is, is also extremely rewarding. There’s something remarkable about reaching out to an ordinary reader, asking them to take a gamble on your book, and they come back and say they loved it. It’s personal, it’s powerful, and it’s priceless. And as an indie, you have to do it over and over and over, gaining a fanbase one reader at a time. Each sale is a tiny personal victory, and it’s made even sweeter by the fact that you do it all on your own. And many big artists started out this way; Jay-Z started off by selling CDs out of his car, one listener at a time.

Will I publish traditionally? Maybe one day, if “the market” ever wills it. But in the meantime I’m having a great time doing it my way, and being free to tell the stories I want to tell, how I want to tell them.

Ramsey Isler is an author, software developer, and designer who lives in Los Angeles. Isler writes urban fantasy that blends elements of science fiction and suspense. His stories feature young protagonists that are often unsure of themselves, but they find the strength to persevere when faced with extreme circumstances. Ramsey does not write traditional “evil” villains or black-and-white morality tales; he instead opts for antagonists and anti-heroes who have viewpoints and ideals that pose difficult moral challenges for the protagonists, and the worlds they inhabit.

Waiting on Wednesday 11/13/13

Posted on November 13, 2013 Leave a Comment

“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!

Mogsy’s Pick

Star Wars: Empire and Rebellion: Honor Among Thieves by James S.A. Corey: March 4, 2014 (LucasBooks)

A Star Wars book written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck — the writing team behind the pseudonym James S.A. Corey — who brought us The Expanse series, plus a story about Han Solo. What more could I ask for?

“When the Empire threatens the galaxy’s new hope, will Han, Luke, and Leia become its last chance?

When the mission is to extract a high-level rebel spy from the very heart of the Empire, Leia Organa knows the best man for the job is Han Solo—something the princess and the smuggler can finally agree on. After all, for a guy who broke into an Imperial cell block and helped destroy the Death Star, the assignment sounds simple enough.

But when Han locates the brash rebel agent, Scarlet Hark, she’s determined to stay behind enemy lines. A pirate plans to sell a cache of stolen secrets that the Empire would destroy entire worlds to protect—including the planet where Leia is currently meeting with rebel sympathizers. Scarlet wants to track down the thief and steal the bounty herself, and Han has no choice but to go along if he’s to keep everyone involved from getting themselves killed. From teeming city streets to a lethal jungle to a trap-filled alien temple, Han, Chewbacca, Leia, and their daring new comrade confront one ambush, double cross, and firestorm after another as they try to keep crucial intel out of Imperial hands.

But even with the crack support of Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing squadron, the Alliance heroes may be hopelessly outgunned in their final battle for the highest of stakes: the power to liberate the galaxy from tyranny or ensure the Empire’s reign of darkness forever.”

Mogsy’s Favorite Romance Book

Posted on November 12, 2013 Leave a Comment

Master of Crows by Grace Draven

While I’ve been known to enjoy an element of romance in my reading, I’m not sure if the actual Romance genre is my cup of tea. Harlequin novels or the type of books featuring their heroines’ steely-eyed, bare-chested and six-pack-bedecked love interests on their covers just aren’t generally my thing. But then, I stumbled upon Master of Crows.

I read this one last year and I was surprised at how good it was, especially since it appears to be a self-published indie. Okay, so maybe indulging in a steamy Romance novel can be fun once in a while, but it’s still gotta be science fiction/fantasy-related or else I don’t know if it’ll hold my interest. Master of Crows sure fit the bill, taking place in a world of mages and magic and all that good stuff. Sure, it’s not without its cheesy parts (but then again, I’m also a firm believer that any good Romance must have its fair amount of cheese), with its rather standard master-apprentice love story and the archetypal tall, dark, handsome, sexy, broody, mysterious and misunderstood and privately tortured lone-wolf male protagonist. Still, I liked this one. Never once did we lose the fantasy element, even amidst the lusty passion…

Which I’ll admit was kind of hot.

Click here for more of the BiblioSanctum 30-Day Book Challenge