Review: JanIus: Pawns

JanIus: Pawns by D L Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

D.L. Hannah returns to her interplanetary saga with the long awaited third arc that picks up roughly where the original trilogy left off. Dr. Justin Ascensio leaves an increasingly fascist-polluted America (where analogues of Trump and Musk try to force their gaudy and technocratic brands of evil on the country, and the world) to take a position on the world of JanIus. Here, he proves a very popular new doctor, in part because he makes it a point of rejecting the corruption, violence, and misogyny of current physician Dr. Azini. (I’m not a doctor, but I’ve worked in clinics for several years, and let me tell you, some of Justin’s methods of tearing down abusers and wrongdoers are serious wish fulfillment for me.) When we’re not following Justin, we’re following Fawn Azini, the not-so-good doctor’s daughter, who aims to be a doctor herself despite her father’s hateful insistence otherwise…if she can survive Platirian-style training first. (Yes, lots of fave characters from Platirius and Coldarius make welcome returns.) While I may have some of my future reading delayed while I make preparations to move, I’ve already got my preorder in place for Book 2, Enter the King…from Hannah’s own website, now that she’s got her own sales portal up and running!

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Review: Tusk Love

Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don’t really know jack about D&D. As much of a geek as I am, I never played it, so there goes a lot of my nerd cred I guess. lol. I also don’t know jack about Critical Role, but I guess this book is part of that universe? But what’s most important to me is that it proves once again why, of all the romantasy writers in the biz, Thea Guanzon is the one I keep returning to with every new book. She’s the true queen. Not Sarah J. Mass. Certainly not Rebecca Yarros. It’s Thea Guanzon, and while we wait for the long planned conclusion to The Hurricane Wars, Guanzon now gives us a more lighthearted medieval fantasy love story, playing like a milder Beauty and the Beast with a well done Grumpy x Sunshine pairing, spot on class commentary, and some of the most tasteful spice you’ll ever have the pleasure of reading.

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Review: Among Ghosts

Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rachel Hartman returns to the world of Seraphina with a new and very unusual kind of story in this universe: a ghost story. It’s very different from Hartman’s previous books in that it features a male protagonist, one who’s younger than either Seraphina or Tess - which might help explain why the cover looks a little more MG than YA, but it’s still a pretty dark tale at its core. Perhaps it bites off more than it can chew story-wise, but it’s still a worthwhile addition to Hartman’s canon. Especially for the opening scene of an idiotic rich boy, his equally dumb muscle, and young Charl sneaking into a very haunted old dwelling. Some horror movie tropes deserve the coffin, but this ain’t one of them.

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Review: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As with Addie LaRue, this latest standalone dark fantasy from V.E. Schwab, spanning the centuries, is one that's a classic for the ages, but I'll never want to read it again. Just like Addie LaRue, this book focuses on a set of three women throughout history who fall for a dreadful curse - and in this case, they're all linked by one vampire that started it all. Schwab marketed this book as being her book of "toxic lesbian vampires," and while it's very clear that it's about lesbian vampires pretty quickly, the toxic aspect doesn't make it clear until much later, as our two historically deceased vampires show different reactions to how they have to hurt and kill other women in order to prolong their own undead existences. Given Schwab's notoriety for writing quite unlikable characters, I'd say this time, she does a great job of making them sympathetic first.

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Review: The Republic of Salt

The Republic of Salt by Ariel Kaplan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ariel Kaplan returns with the second book of the Mirror Realm Cycle, following Toba, Naftaly, Elena, Barsilay, and all the Maxim cohort on a journey away from Rimon to Zayit - the Olive Gate, a city corresponding to Venice in the real world. As with the previous book, the characters aren’t really the most interesting - though Barsilay far and away shines as my fave - but the richly detailed magic system, rooted in Jewish legend with elements of fae and djinn - continues to make this book stand out even as it suffers from a touch of middle book syndrome. Naturally, there’s a pretty rough cliffhanger to endure on this one, and I’m really hoping to get Book 3 next year to wrap up this prospective trilogy. Or more, if Kaplan’s imagination (fertile as it is) calls for it. And I hope it does.

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Review: Isles of the Emberdark

Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sanderson’s latest Secret Project, released as part of his fundraiser for the leather bound edition of Words of Radiance, follows in the footsteps of The Sunlit Man as it delves into the far future of the Cosmere. Expanding on his previous novella “Sixth of the Dusk” with the title character one of many in focus, Sanderson also sets up a future clash between Roshar and Scadrial in particular, planting seeds for what to expect in the upcoming future arcs of Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive. While this book proves long and meandering, and at times difficult to maintain interest in, it’s one scene in particular that bumps this up from 3.5 to 4. And as you can imagine, it’s another one of Hoid’s greatest hits, that wily old trickster God (no seriously, that’s how I’ve come to see him at this point.)

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Review: The Listeners

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Maggie Stiefvater gives us her adult fiction debut in a book that plays like a World War II version of The Magic Mountain, set in Appalachia. Inspired by true events, Stiefvater tells the story of June, a hotel manager forced to accept Axis diplomats as unwanted guests in her fancy hotel most famous for its healing sweetwater (actually pretty foul tasting, but the local folks swear by it all the same.) While the book does suffer from Stiefvater’s usual issues that have plagued many of her YA books - dreamy prose masking thin plot, most of the characters are less than likable - I can imagine this particular story would work far better as a movie to really immerse viewers in a gothic atmosphere. Especially gothic in the literary sense, since it shows our government coddling diplomats from then enemy nations in a way that almost would make sense today, given that our country has been hijacked by traitors who would give comfort to our enemies just to make a quick buck.

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