Title: To Follow the Waves Author: Amal El-Mohtar In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Steampunk, Strong women Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: They stayed like that for some time, Hessa breathing through slow, ragged sobs while Nahla touched her head.
Hessa is a crafter of dreams, but when her own dream starts to hover over her reality, she finds out that there’s a lot in the world that she doesn’t truly understand yet.
The notion of dream crowns and the ways in which these can
work was completely foreign to me. I loved the idea of layer upon layer of intricate
memory and thoughts. The way that emotions are literally carved into stone to
give a beautiful and long-lasting way to live in one’s own happiness. And I
also loved the way in which this dreamscape is layered upon a questing desire
and an LGBTQI desire.
I was kind of expecting a happily-ever-after, run off into
the sunset ending to this story. The fact that it didn’t quite end in that way
was really refreshing. And a great reminder that this isn’t what actually
happens in real life. After all, not everyone gets a happily ever after. And obsessing
over one woman and weaving her into your dreams doesn’t necessarily mean that
she wants to be in them…
Title: Atlantis Unleashed Author: Alyssa Day Series: Warriors of Poseidon #3 Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Paranormal romance, Vampires Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Berkley Sensation Year: 2009 5th sentence, 74th page: She could save us, it claimed.
Eleven thousand years ago, Poseidon’s warriors swore an oath to protect humanity from those who stalked the night. Now those powerful forces are uniting. So are two souls who are all that stand between justice and eternal darkness…
A warrior prince… Lord Justice made the ultimate sacrifice for his brother and paid for it with unimaginable torture. Now he’s back, rescued from death, his sanity shaken, and his mission inescapable: to search for the lost star of Artemis. But the beautiful female whom he has sworn to protect is shadowed by an evil that could destory them both.
A woman of science… The archaeological artifacts of Atlantis speak to Dr. Keely McDermott, sharing visions of life long ago. The ancient revelations have cast her into a world between past and present, between reality and illusion – and, when she meets the fierce Atlantean warrior assigned to guard her, between terror and temptation. As their two worlds collide, so too will danger and desire…
Although there is still an epic battle with vampires to complete this story (like the first two novels in this series), most of the story doesn’t actually involve an arch nemesis or vampires in any significant way. It is about the internal battle and war that Justice must fight with himself to survive and become whole again. And I really enjoyed this change of pace. I tend to find I jump from series to series because there becomes a certain same-same in the battles that the characters are fighting, by having an internal demon as opposed to an external, Day was able to mix it up enough that I don’t yet want to put this series down in preference for another (I’ve had to because I haven’t received Atlantis Unmasked yet, but I digress…)
One of the things I thoroughly enjoyed about Justice and
Keely’s story was that Justice is completely dual natured. Whilst there are a
plethora of external forces he has to fight against (being held captive,
rampaging vampires, etc.), the biggest battle is that with himself. And, more
importantly, the internal dialogue that highlights his duality. Although the
Nereid half is cast as the evil, I like that at the end, you find that the
Nereid was also having its own battles and trouble expecting its alter-ego (for
lack of a better term). Keely’s ability to accept them both and realise that he
is her other half in spite of his crazy just made it feel all the more sweet.
I also enjoyed Keely as a lead female. She is the first
scientist and academic to take centre-stage in this series and for that alone,
I found that I related to her better than previous female leads. I may not be
an archaeologist who has a gift to read the past in an object, but I am a
female scientist who is constantly querying the world around her and trying to
figure out how things work. I absolutely loved the way in which, even in the
most dire situations, she will trail off and start to question how things work,
the past, just anything and everything around her. It’s something that I do
often, get distracted by the how and why when I’m supposed to be looking at
something completely different…
It’s always important to have your Christmas celebrations – even if it’s the end of the world and the beginning of a zombie apocalypse.
I love the setting of Christmas against a zombie apocalypse
(or at least, that’s what the setting seemed to be to me)…
Christmas time is a time of plenty. Joy. Family. Giving. Zombie
apocalypses are a time of… well, nothing. Death. Killing family. Taking
anything and everything. So having the two in a story that was kind of hopeful,
but also quite dark, twisty made my dark and twisty soul happy. What I loved
most though is that although there is a great sense of Christmas and maybe a
respite from the horrors of the world… there is also this kind of lingering feeling
that they’re about to die in the most horrible of ways. Nothing like a horrible
death to make you love the festive season.
Title: Lily-White & the Thief of Lesser Night Author: C. S. E. Cooney In: Mad Hatters and March Hares (Ellen Datlow) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Adventure, Family, Wordplay Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Tor Year: 2017 5th sentence, 74th page: I’ll make sure of it – if I have to conjure one up myself!
Lily-White and her sister Ruby-Red have some unusual gifts and a talent for mayhem. When someone starts attacking the Cheshires, they find out how they can embrace this and find a bit of adventure of their own…
I felt like this short story was a kind of prequel to the rivalry that seems to feature throughout many of the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland retellings. At a young age, sisters Lily-White and Ruby-Red already have an intense rivalry. And although they get along famously within this story, there are the seeds of discord in all of their interactions… and on completing this story, there was kind of an uncomfortable feeling that lingered, making you think of the future of the two queens…
As an origins story, this not only covers the beginning of tensions between the sisters – but why there is just one Cheshire cat, and how the vorpal sword came about. I love how Cooney is able to build upon the ideas that are laid out in Carroll’swork, but still make it entirely his own. The complex wordplay is still there, as is the tripped out and intense worldbuilding and this great sense of wonder. I look forward to reading this story again and again and again, just like the stories that inspired this short story.
Morgan has always been nothing but a disappointment to her father. Yet, she’ll still sacrifice everything to save her people, and maybe find a little of love for herself in the process.
I’m getting towards the end of a very big collection of
vampire romance stories. And once you’ve read a heap of stories with the same
themes it can become a little… repetitive. However, The Sacrifice had a completely different feel to it. And it was
honestly enough to make me feel refreshed towards the entire anthology.
The trope of a virgin sacrifice to appease the evil dragon
on the mountain was completely turned on its head in this short story. Alright,
the sacrifice was still a virgin, but she had an actual brain on her shoulders and
willingly sacrificed herself. The dragon was a vampire and the kingdom she was
sacrificing herself for was kind of run by a douche. It just completely turned everything
that I was expecting on its head. In the best way possible.
Sophie keeps having dreams that feature the moon and passion. But, are they real, or just a figment of her imagination?
I actually read this twice before writing this review, each
reading about a week apart. I loved it when I first read it, but there was
something haunting in the refrain, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. Almost
like it haunted my dreams as in the story. So I read it again, which helped to
dispel that lingering feeling of haunting and confusion that was lingering
around.
One of the things that I often love about fairy tales is the surreal beauty that permeates them. And de Lint was able to enhance this to the extreme. Using the iconic thematic sense of the moon and mixing this with dreamscapes and a desire to know oneself, there is a beauty and completely unreal feeling to this story. I loved the imagery, and it was because of this that I found it so hard to put down. And so easy to read twice in a row.
Title: Magick in the Mist Author: Debbie Mazzuca In: The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance (Trisha Telep) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Historical romance, Scottish romance Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: He crossed his arms over his chest, his muscles flexing, and gave her a look that had caused many a man to quiver in his boots.
Isobel knows that Ewan is fated to be her one true love, but a series of betrothals and mistakes could be a serious threat to her happily ever after.
The theme of fate and love is always something that suckers
me in. The fact that these themes are based within the Scottish highlands in a
time long gone… believe me, I was drawn into this story almost immediately. Especially
since Isobel is obviously a woman with an amazing brain, and one who isn’t happy
to just take what is convenient, but rather what is going to give her her
happily ever after.
One of the things that kind of annoyed me about this is how
much of a douche Ewan is. Alright, he kind of has a good reason… but mostly he
just frustrates me and makes me feel like he’s being pigheaded for no purpose. Luckily,
there is a happy ending for Isobel, otherwise I think I would have tried to
reach through the pages of the book to smack the silly highlander around the face…
Alright, this is a little delayed… but here are some snapshots of my year in books for 2018. I want to read an extra 20 books this year and I can’t wait to hit it!
Title: Red Blues Author: Michael Skeet In: Evolve (Nancy Kilpatrick) Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this) My Bookshelves:Vampires Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Edge Year: 2010 5th sentence, 74th page: You wait.
A jazz musician and a vampire have decided who they want… but will he get her with his musical ways?
The beginning paragraphs of this story are very well written. They are slightly vague, and make you think of a vampire sinking his or her teeth into a woman’s neck. They give this slightly titillating feeling to the words and a very sensual ideal to a hunger that is not your own. And then Skeet turns the tables and you find out that the narrator is discussing jazz and an instrument.
Although I loved the opening of this story, the rest was a
little too typical vampirish for me… male vampire lures female victim in. Takes
a while. Which builds suspense. Then he triumphs and the cycle is set to begin
again. It’s well written and it’s fun. But it just doesn’t quite have that same
sense of intrigue that less predictable vampire stories can hold…
An Atlantean beauty and a voracious Alpha panther male explore the boundaries of shape-shifting passion—only to shatter each one of them, in a beguiling novella of the Warriors of Poseidon…
Having never ventured beyond Atlantis for four centuries, Marie, First Maiden of the Nereids, is finally leaving for the world of the Above to see her brother and meet the beautiful shifter he married. For Marie, an even bigger surprise awaits her—one prowling in her sister-in-law’s panther pack. No man has ever touched her quite as exquisitely as Ethan, Alpha male of the panthers. But being drawn into his sensual world is as irresistible as it is dangerous when a violent turf war places both of them in inescapable danger.
I was expecting a novella featuring one of the Seven Warriors that are the focal point of the Warriors of Poseidon series. So it was a somewhat pleasant surprise to read a novella about one of the sisters – and a healer who is the leader of a temple. Alright, there was still an incredibly dominant and pushy male taking centre stage, but I enjoyed the fact that the Atlantean was female this time.
One of my favourite parts of this novella was that although there
was the romance, neither party gave up everything for it. I was fully expecting
the female to suddenly drop her role as lead of the temple, move to Florida and
bed down with a very pretty leopard shapeshifter. Instead, they admit that they
are mates, and tied to one another, but neither gives up their lives and responsibilities
to indulge in this. Rather, there is an agreement to maintain a long-distance
relationship, of sorts. I found it entirely refreshing that the tale ended in
this way.
Earth and Skye 