Hello, friends! Today is release day for the final Secrets of Ormdale novel, Valley of Dragons. I was once again able to get an ARC of this book, and let me tell you, this is such a good conclusion to the series. I may or may not have stayed up until after one in the morning the night I finished it because I got so invested in the story, and that's something I haven't done in a long time. So, obviously, I have to share my thoughts!

Thoughts on Valley of Dragons

1. The story came full-circle in the best possible way. Secrets of Ormdale closes as it opens: with Edith learning something about her family that she never would have imagined, discovering the darkness hiding behind "the way it's always been," and choosing to find ways to push back against that darkness. However, the story still feels as fresh and exciting as it did in book one, and Baehr ties all the plot threads together marvelously.
2. As always, I love the blend of cozy vibes with intrigue and Gothic adventure. While the stakes are as high or higher than they've ever been and Edith and her friends and family still face danger, Baehr maintains a sense of warmth and coziness throughout the story. We still have the love and support between family members and friends; we still have humor to lighten dark moods; we still have kindness on display and confidence that good will win in the end. That coziness doesn't undercut the danger and excitement at any point (again, I read this into the wee hours of the morning because I had to know what happened next), but
3. It's lovely to see how the characters have changed since they were first introduced. As the last book in this series, Valley of Dragons has to wrap up all the character arcs satisfactorily . . . and I'm happy to say that it's not just satisfying; it's downright delightful. All of our favorites have grown so much, and while I'm not going to spoil anything, I will say that the end of this book finds them all flourishing, freed of what once bound them and able to pursue both new dreams and new responsibilities. I especially loved how Baehr worked out the arcs for Edith's cousins and for Simon Drake. They arguably had the most weighing them down and forcing them into particular molds at the story's start, and now we see them becoming who they were always meant to be. And speaking of that . . .
4. Edith and Simon continue to be the best couple. Their feelings may be out in the open now, but that doesn't mean their journey is any less difficult, as they both (but especially Simon) wrestle with the tension between love and duty. Baehr portrays that conflict and dynamic in a very realistic way, and I genuinely wondered how she was going to resolve it. Again, I won't give away any secrets, but I will say that I really liked how it was handled and how the characters dealt with certain related events and discoveries.
5. Even the antagonists are treated with compassion. Aside from the character arcs, this may be one of my favorite things about this book. Over and over again, Baehr and her characters find the balance between compassion and justice — appropriately, as so many of the antagonists in this series are victims of the same lies, traditions, and cycles of pain they've used to hurt others. Where redemption is possible, it's offered and often pursued, and I loved the fact that this made for so many happy endings. But those who refuse still face the full consequences of their actions, and that's equally satisfying.
   

I can hardly believe this series is over . . . but, happily, Baehr has teased that more stories from Ormdale may be on the way! I can hardly wait to find out what comes of that. In the meantime, are you excited to read Valley of Dragons? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Hello everyone! You may remember me raving about H.S.J. Williams's wonderful novel Moonscript when it released a few years ago. You may also recall that the sequel to Moonscript, Collusion, finally came out just over a week and a half ago — and that I was absolutely hyped about it. I was so excited, in fact, that I started reading it the very day I got my paperback (putting a Sanderson novel on pause, which I very rarely do), and now I'm here to tell y'all that it is so, so good and y'all need to read it. Well, if you haven't read Moonscript, you should read that first . . . but then you should read Collusion (and, naturally, I'm about to tell you why).

You NEED to Read Collusion

1. The characters are excellent — especially Errance. I raved about this in Moonscript, and I will rave about it here too. Collusion holds so many amazing characters, and even the minor ones shine. However, Errance is the best of them all. He's still healing from all he went through in the first book, and Williams handles that trauma well . . . but at the same time, for all his doubts and fears, all the points where he's broken, he's also courageous and loving and determined to take care of his own, and he holds to what is true even when he's struggling in his faith. I love him so much, and I loved seeing his growth over the course of this book. That said, Errance isn't the only star here. I still love brave, resilient, loving Tryss (and I maintain that we would be excellent friends were she real). And, of course, Coren is absolutely my favorite character after Errance — still as clever and as much of a schemer and talker as ever, and still using his cleverness (and his wisdom!) for the good of others.
2. The antagonists are wonderfully complex. One of the biggest changes from Collusion to Moonscript is the nature of the antagonists. Both have excellent villains, but where Moonscript gave us the utterly evil and terrifying Voice of the Darkness, Collusion's villains are a bit more human, a bit more tangled, and a bit more like people you'd see in our own world. They're just as well characterized as the more heroic figures, and at various points, I found myself wanting to stab them for what they'd done and desperately hoping they might get a redemption arc (if not in this book, in a future one). I can't say more without spoilers, but I think you get the idea.
3. There are so many actually-married couples.  I've been saying for at least a few years now how much I want to see (and like to see) stories that don't stop just because the main couple got married. Wonderfully, Williams has given me (and like-minded readers) exactly what we wanted. Most of the major couples we met in Moonscript are now married, either with kids or thinking about kids, but that doesn't stop them from having adventures and being amazing. In fact, those relationships are, in multiple cases, where they find the support and encouragement they need to keep going on the right path and to be who they're meant to be — and I absolutely love to see it. And, on a related note . . .
4. Family is front and center. Y'all know that family-centric books are like catnip to me, and we see so many different family relationships highlighted here. Errance and Tryss are looking towards parenthood and figuring out what challenges that might hold (with Errance, naturally, worrying about how to be a good father when he's so broken), and we also have Leoren being an Awesome Elf Dad (I would say "best elf dad" but there are too many people in the running for that role for me to actually pick). Errance and Tellie have maintained a sibling-ish relationship even as they've grown, which is lovely to see. The best of the family relationships, though, is Errance and Coren, who spend a lot of the book in each others' company and have some amazing interactions. They make me very happy.
5. The story takes on dark topics without losing sight of the light. I've already touched on Errance's trauma, and I will say again that Williams handles that very well. A lifetime of pain and suffering will take its toll, and many of the internal scars Errance bears have yet to fade. However, healing is still possible, and we see that again and again through this book. On a broader view, Collusion deals with many societal evils, ones that plague our world as well as the storyworld, notably issues of trafficking and sexual slavery. Williams doesn't shy away from the darkness of these issues or the complexity of solving them, but she also handles them tastefully and makes sure to keep hope in sight. Again and again, this story reminds us that whether we're dealing with a broken heart or a broken world, that which is shattered may yet be mended by the One who made all things.
   

Have you read Collusion yet, or is it on your to-read list? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Hello, all! I debated a bit about whether or not to post this week — I am still on hiatus, technically, and it's also the week before Realm Makers, which means I am quite busy getting ready for that! However, this is release weekend for City of Serpents, the fourth book in the the Secrets of Ormdale series by Christina Baehr, and I enjoyed my ARC so much that I couldn't not talk about it! Granted, if you haven't read the series, you should probably start with book one, Wormwood Abbey (as you will be hopelessly confused otherwise), and if you have read the series, you probably don't need much convincing to read the new installment . . . but if nothing else, maybe I can convince you to read it a little sooner? In any case, I have thoughts!

Thoughts on City of Serpents

1. If you liked the rest of the Ormdale books, you'll like this one. City of Serpents introduces a new setting and some new characters, but it still contains all the things we've come to love and expect from an Ormdale novel. Within its pages, you'll find dragons, strong family relationships and friendships, and dire danger balanced with cozy comfort. You'll find villains who are, in some ways, all too realistic, even if they're with dragons. And, of course, you'll find Edith, our favorite cleric's daughter/novelist-turned-dragon-keeper, who has turned her detective-novelist's mind towards some schemes of her own.
2. I also enjoyed meeting quite a few new characters. My favorite of these is, unfortunately, a spoiler, though I will say that this person was alluded to in Castle of the Winds (and that allusion did not prepare me for how delightful the actual person would be). In terms of characters I can talk about, though, the main newcomers are Edith's cousin, Stephen, and his son, Crispin, both of whom are very fun. Edith's interactions with Crispin are especially lovely and fun, while Stephen simultaneously provides some extra humor (via teasing Edith and his general personality) and a bit of a sobering effect (via his knowledge and role in the narrative). You'll get what I mean once you meet him.
3. I was a little nervous about the start of the story . . . Mostly because Edith was being very determined to Do Things Alone (understandable, given what happened in the last book, but still stressful) and other people were, in my opinion, being a bit hard on her and Not Helping. Thankfully, both of these issues clear up after those first few chapters — and, really, I shouldn't have doubted in the first place. Edith is too sensible for that kind of nonsense, and Christina Baehr is too good an author to send her main character down that path.
4. This is the most historical-feeling of the Ormdale books thus far. Yes, all the books are historical fantasy, but the remote locations of the previous books meant they leaned strongly to the fantasy side of the genre. On the other hand, City of Serpents deals very heavily with very specific movements, social issues, attitudes, and people of its era. It almost feels like what you'd get if you crossed Ormdale with Suzannah Rowntree's Miss Dark books. (Side note, if anyone wants to actually write that fanfiction, please send me a link; I think it would be delightfully fun.)
5. The story is a little bit darker than some of the others in the series. That shouldn't really be a surprise, given what I said in my last point — but it is worth noting. All of the Ormdale books have dealt in some way with the effects of abuse, but it's usually been on a smaller scale. This one, on the other hand, deals with injustices committed on a larger scale, and that plus the villain's modus operandi and the reminder of just when in history this story is set combine to make City of Serpents a touch darker. However, rest assured that even amid the shadows of the London streets, we never lose sight of the light.
   

Are you excited to read City of Serpents? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Hey'a, all! If you're a fan of H.L. Burke's Supervillain Rehabilitation Project universe like I am, you know that this is a pretty exciting month. For one thing, we have the DOSA Files Kickstarter, which has hit its first stretch goal (an audiobook version of the anthology) and is reaching for the next (downloadable coloring pages). For another, Burke is launching another new series in this world: the Supervillain Legacy Project, which focuses on our next generation of superheroes. Book one, Game On, releases in just a few weeks on May 24. I was lucky enough to get an ARC, and let me tell you that this is a really fun read that's simultaneously rewarding for long-time fans and a great entry point for newcomers. If you're anything like me, you're going to love it . . . and, of course, I have five reasons why that's the case.

 

Reasons You'll Love Game On

1. H.L. Burke knows how to do next-generation stories well. Next-generation stories are always a risk — after all, there's so many ways they can go wrong, whether they echo the originals too much, present beloved original-generation characters in an unflattering light (or kill them off entirely), or commit a myriad of other storytelling sins. However, Burke avoids all these missteps with a story that honors the rest of the canon while still being something new. Ruby, Curran, and Oliver may echo past characters, but only in the way that kids normally echo parents or other influential people in their lives. The storyline is very different than the rest of the books — rather than a fight versus a supervillain, we have a superhero tournament (which, let's be real, is exactly the kind of PR stunt we knew DOSA would pull eventually). And we see plenty of past characters, either as mentors or in brief cameos, but they don't steal the spotlight, and where they fall short, it's in ways consistent with their past characterization.
2. The connections to past books are really fun. Game On has ties to pretty much all the past SVR series, and the list of appearances is almost like a "Who's Who" of the DOSA-verse. Ruby and Curran are Fade and Prism's kids, obviously, while Oliver last appeared in Wishing on a Supervillain. The story also features Jake and Laleh as significant secondary characters (Jake is the one adult to get POV chapters, and his dynamic with Laleh is still so good) and a few characters from Second Chance Superhero, along with some other reappearing characters in more minor roles. I loved getting to see Prism and Fade in full-on parent mode (and seeing the success of Prism's dreams!) and getting updates on a lot of past characters and their lives.
3. It's a great way to discover the SVR-verse. This might sound contradictory, given that I just talked about how Game On has so many connections to past books. However, the story itself doesn't require a lot of background knowledge to understand, and what is required is explained in the narrative. Ruby, Curran, and Oliver are very much their own characters with their own stories, and I think you could easily pick this up and fully enjoy it without having read any previous SVR books. And the fact that the story does have so many connections kind of gives new readers an idea of where they might like to read next — someone curious about Prism and Fade would go to the original series next, someone who loves Jake and Laleh's dynamic could pick up the Superhero Rescue Project, and so on.
4. It's a family-focused story. This is true of most SVR-verse books, but it's particularly true here. All three kids have very strong bonds with, love for, and pride in their families — Ruby's whole thing, in fact, is wanting to not just compete in the Games but specifically to compete in them with her family by her side. The story is also very much, as the series name would suggest, about legacies and about the way your family affects you and the way others perceive you.
5. It's a YA book that still has reasonable adults. We all know that adults — parents especially — are often the antagonists in YA books, whether that's intentional or not in-world. That is not the case in Game On. All three main characters have strong, healthy relationships with their parents, even in circumstances where other authors would see bitterness as a character-justified way to add drama. That's not to say that all these relationships are perfect, but they're realistically loving. Even adults who do act as an obstacle to some degree generally (with one or two exceptions) aren't seeking to be cruel; they're just acting realistically.
   

Are you ready to pick up Game On? If so, make sure to preorder it on Amazon and add it on Goodreads. Before you go, though, tell me in the comments: what other really good next-generation stories have you enjoyed?
Thanks for reading!

Hello all, and happy release day to The Erlking's Daughters by Claire Trella Hill! This epic romantic fae fantasy was the last of my Highly Anticipated spring reads for this year and the last of the four books by four of my favorite authors released in the last not-quite-a-month. And what a high note to end on! I loved Claire's debut, Black and Deep Desires, and The Erlking's Daughters is every bit as good (and, in some ways, better). I think y'all will love it too, and I have five good reasons why!

 

Reasons You'll Love The Erlking's Daughters

1. It's all about family, with sibling relationships center stage. Y'all know how much I love a story that focuses on family bonds just as much or more than it focuses on romance, and The Erlking's Daughters absolutely delivers on that front. Morwë, Enzella, Arken, and Micah are all motivated first and foremost by family, for good or for bad, and that's particularly true of Morwë and Arken, both of whom are driven by their need to protect their younger siblings. The family relationships here run the gamut from abusive (I was rooting for Morwë's father and brother to get stabbed from early on in the book) to oh-so-sweet and loving, but all of them are drawn with care. And, really, if you give me a book that's primarily about a pair of older siblings ready to move heaven and earth (possibly literally, if necessary) to protect their younger siblings, there is no way I'm not going to love it.
   
2. It's a dark story with a bright ending. This is true both literally and metaphorically, ha! The story chronicles the main characters' escape from the darkness of the Unseelie fae's cavernous home to the light of the human world. In the process, it also takes us from a beginning that has a lot in common with grimdark fantasy to a brilliant, hope-filled ending — and while that might sound like a jarring tone shift, it's not. It's a beautiful, gradual change that mirrors what's going on in the characters' hearts. Speaking of which . . .
3. It's a lovely, lovely redemption story. The Erlking's Daughter isn't an allegory, but it is a magnificent picture of spiritual redemption. As I said, this story has a grimdark beginning due to the culture of the Unseelie fae, and at the start, Morwë is very immersed in that way of life. She's better than many of those around her, thanks to the influence of her sister and mother and her love towards them, but she's still cold and vengeful and caught in darkness. It takes someone from outside that culture to push her to choose a different path, to leave the darkness and begin to change. And the ending completes the picture . . . but, of course, I can't say much about that because that would be a spoiler.
4. It has a slowburn romance that never overwhelms the rest of the plot. Better still, it's slowburn enemies-to-lovers romance. Or, antagonists-to-lovers, at least — Morwë and Arken might start out on different sides, and their first interactions are far from friendly, but they're both trapped by the Erlking, just in different ways. Seeing them come to understand each other, then come to love each other, is wonderful — and the tension inherent in both of them trying to figure out their feelings and Morwë worrying about hurting Arken (and others, but especially Arken) is absolutely delicious. However, at no point does the romance overwhelm the rest of the plot, and both characters are restrained enough (and sensible enough of the seriousness of their situation) that they're not letting their feelings overwhelm their view of what needs to be done.
5. It's set in a rich, lore-filled world. While this is a fairly localized story, taking place mostly in three locations and the wilderness between them, you can tell that there's a larger world outside the immediate narrative. Additionally, we get snatches of lore here and there: tales of the Unseelie history, legends of monsters and forest cats, whispers of magic and other magical beings. It's all fascinating, and I look forward to future books where we'll hopefully get to explore more of it.

How are you ready to pick up The Erlking's Daughters? What do you think you'll love most about it? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Hello, all! It's time to spotlight another release I'm super excited about: Christina Baehr's Castle of the Winds. This is the third book in the Secrets of Ormdale series, and you may recall my raving over book one, Wormwood Abbey, and book two, Drake Hall. Now we're back with my thoughts on Castle of the Winds, which sees Edith (and others) venture away from Ormdale, into the mountains of Wild Wales . . . and find themselves in a very unexpected sort of adventure altogether. Once again, I absolutely loved this book, and naturally I have to share my thoughts.

Thoughts on Castle of the Winds

1. Edith continues to be the most relatable protagonist. And no, I'm not just saying that because we're both writers — though I do love that about her, and I'm pleased any time it comes up. (There's one brief scene wherein she tries to solve a problem by considering how her protagonist would address her, only to admit that her protagonist never would've gotten himself in the situation in the first place, and . . . Girl, same.) But she's simultaneously sensible and eager for adventure, equal parts practical and appreciative of drama. She's intelligent, but she's still allowed to make mistakes — and, I'll admit, she flubs a bit more in this book than she does in others. However, at no point was I actually frustrated with her because every time, I had to admit that I probably would've done the same thing, probably for the same reasons (those reasons being dragons and responsibility, but especially the former).
2. I enjoyed seeing Edith and Simon's relationship continue to develop. I can't say a lot on this point because, y'know, spoilers. What I can say is that they make very good friends who support each other, protect each other, fill in each other's blind spots, and try to make the other better . . . and they're both aware of how they feel about each other (in a deeper-than-friendship sense), but they're handling those feelings like mature adults. Which is to say, they both also have lines they're not willing to cross, and they're not letting feelings carry them off into making foolish decisions, either in how they treat each other or how they relate to other people.
3. On that note, I also loved seeing Simon continue to come into his own. He is finally really having an opportunity to determine who he is and who he wishes to be, aside from the expectations laid on him by others, and I love that for him. Again and again, he has opportunities to display his character, and again and again he proves himself to be a man of quality (especially held up against certain others). In particular, he demonstrates a great deal of courage and trust throughout the book, sometimes in obvious ways and sometimes in less obvious ones, and . . . I just love him, ok?
4. Getting to see another part of Baehr's version of the world was so exciting. As I mentioned in the intro, this book takes us to Wild Wales, to the holdings of another family of dragon keepers, and this one is very different from Ormdale. Discovering this new area, with its unique dragon types, culture, and lore, was fun and fascinating — and I loved the inclusion of some Arthurian and Welsh myth references! Beyond that, though, this new region and its people allow Baehr to explore new facets of her series themes: the dangers of the lure of traditionalism and "the way it's always been done" and the ways family can build a person for better or worse.
5. Though it's more adventurous than other books in the series and has higher stakes, it maintains the cozy vibes. As you might have gathered from the last point, Castle of the Winds is a book of discovery that takes place mostly away from Ormdale, and the characters are often caught off-guard by the differences between this place and their home. This unfamiliar setting also brings new dangers, which are simultaneously more insidious and more threatening than what we've dealt with in previous books. The climax and ending of the story are also quite thrilling (and the very end of the book made me gasp). However, Baehr keeps the overall tone cozy through the narrative voice, through the focus on character relationships, and through the details she chooses to emphasize. So, this is still a low-stress read — relatively, anyway.
   

Are you excited to visit Castle of the Winds? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Good morning, everyone, and happy release day to Dark & Dawn, book 4 in Suzannah Rowntree's Miss Dark's Apparitions series. Now, by the time you get this far into a series, you pretty much know what to expect from the rest, so if you liked the first three Miss Dark books, you'll be delighted by Dark & Dawn, and if you didn't care for the previous three, you'll feel about the same about this one. And if you haven't read any of the series, you really ought to go back to Tall & Dark and give it a try! (It's great; you should read it; I reviewed it back when it released.) However, reviews also give me a chance to externally scream in delight over this book, rather than just keeping all the screams internal, so let's go!

 

Dark & Dawn Is a DELIGHT

1. The character development is magnificent. We've known these characters for three books now, and it's magnificent to see how far they've all come since met them in Tall & Dark (or in Miss Sharp's Monsters). Vasily, of course, gets the star for having come the furthest and going still further in this book. He's still far from perfect, but he really is learning to be good and trying to be worthy of the trust and affection he desires. But he isn't the only one who's growing. We see Molly do a lot of working through her own long-held hangups and insecurities, figuring out how to really trust the rest further than she ever has before, and unraveling some of the lies she's believed for a very long time. And we also see developments from Schmidt, Nijam, and Mimi, though Vasily and Molly very much take center stage.
   
2. Vasily and Molly's relationship gets better and better. Part of Vasily trying to be worthy of trust and Molly working through her insecurities is, of course, prompted by their continued relationship. They are, both of them, figuring out what they want and what they can give, whether it's what they expected or not. And, thank goodness, that means some actual mature, difficult conversations that, while hard for the characters, are delicious for the reader.
3. Delving into Molly's family history (and family present) is thrilling. For the past several books, the imprint of Molly's father has been a constant . . . and now we get to find out just why he's stuck around, which involves confronting Sir Humphrey, her family's supposed benefactor. Of course, it quickly becomes evident that something is fishy and that Sir Humphrey might be less benevolent than he seems. Unwinding the truth of the past while navigating present villainy provides plenty of challenge for the crew, as well as abundant reason to keep readers turning the pages!
4. The setting is wonderfully lifelike. Rowntree always does an amazing job with her settings, of course. You can tell in every book that she's done a great deal of research, even as she wreaks merry havoc on history by filling the ranks of the monarchy and upper-class society with monsters. However, the setting in Dark & Dawn is especially vivid and lifelike, enough that I found myself actually cringing at the humidity and decay in some parts of the setting and as awed by beauty as the characters were in others. And this vividness extends to the people of the setting; Rowntree does a masterful job of capturing the different groups of the era and the tensions between them.
5. The ending is absolute perfection. Obviously I can't get into detail about it because, you know, spoilers. But I will say that there's poetic justice for some thoroughly despicable villains, as well as trust and sacrifice and love and humor sprinkled in for flavor. Plus, where the individual characters' arcs and relationships wind up is as satisfying as the end of book three was heart-rending. It almost feels like a series-ender ending . . . but, happily, we have one book more to look forward to!

How excited are you about Dark & Dawn? What are you most looking forward to? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Hello, everyone! March and April are full of exciting book releases, and today, I'm helping to celebrate the first of these: Katie Hanna's Water Horse, a Western fantasy coming in just a few days, on March 19. Katie has published many short stories in anthologies and through Havok, but this is her first full-length nove release, so I'm absolutely thrilled for her. I was also thrilled to get my hands on an ARC of her novel so I could read this tale of magic, murder, and marriage as soon as possible — and, of course, so I could share my thoughts with y'all.

Thoughts on Water Horse

1. I love the blend of a Western setting and Irish mythology. You all know that I'm a fan of unique fantasy settings, especially for historical fantasy — while I love the classic medieval-Western-European-inspired stories, it's delightful to see how authors merge magic and fantasy elements with other eras. And since the Old West is already such a legendary era and region on its own, combining it with fantasy seems such like such a natural choice, I'm always surprised that there aren't more fantasy Westerns out there. Happily, Water Horse fills a little bit of that void. I can't speak to the book's historical accuracy, but it hits the right notes of ranchers and cowboys, wild horses, isolated settlements, and adventure. And Hanna blends in Irish mythology, specifically the water horses (similar to kelpies, but sea-dwelling), along with other magic and magical beings in a way that works very well.
   
2. I enjoyed the characters and their dynamics. This book features a very colorful and varied cast of characters, both magical and mundane. I enjoyed the characters themselves, and I also enjoyed the dynamics between them: the wary alliances, the friendships, and, yes, the romance — Meg and George end up in a marriage of convenience turned second-chance romance (for one of them, anyway), and it's very sweet. That said, the friendships — between George and his ranch hands, between Meg and the magical beings with whom she can communicate, and between Meg and Brian (a ranch hand who's also from Ireland) — are also a strong element of the story, and they were all written very well. Plus, there's a magical cat in this story, so that's obviously a plus.
3. There is a lot more swearing than I expected. Is it worse than Critical Role (aka, the very upper limit of what I can tolerate)? No. Is it worse than some other books I've read? Also no. Was it enough to detract from my enjoyment of the book? Yes, yes it was — language used included pretty much everything except the f-bomb, and the s-word showed up with surprising frequency. And, yes, I know, this is a story about cowboys, and realistically speaking, they probably wouldn't exactly be clean-spoken . . . but I think that it should be possible to strike a balance between realism and not making readers uncomfortable in that way. If a book is going to make me uncomfortable, I would prefer it to be because it challenges my view of the world in a good way, not because the characters have overly dirty mouths.
4. On a nitpicky note, there's something about either the writing style or the POV that I don't love. I think this has to do with the fact that Water Horse is written in first-person POV that switches between three characters, and while I love single-lead first-person POV, switching first-person POV has to be done really, really well in order to not bother me. Technically, Water Horse checks the main boxes — the characters have fairly distinct voices, they don't switch mid-chapter, and chapters are labeled with the POV character — but something about it still bothers me, and it kept me from enjoying the book as much as I could. This is very much a personal thing, though, so others might not be bothered at all.
5. This is, in many ways, a story about secrets and second chances. The events of this story are a second chance for many characters, whether that's a second chance at life, at love, or at being better than you used to be. It's also about secrets, how they divide characters and how they threaten the second chances that are on offer. And while I did occasionally get frustrated with how long some of those secrets were kept, the way in which they came out and the results of the reveals played well with the overall theme.

Does Water Horse sound like something you'd enjoy reading? What's a setting you'd like to see more in fantasy? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Hello friends! Some of y'all may remember that back in October, I absolutely raved over Christina Baehr's Wormwood Abbey, a cozy gothic fantasy about family and dragons and tradition and change. Well, the sequel to Wormwood Abbey, Drake Hall, just released this week (the week of Dragon Appreciation Day, very appropriately), and I am here to tell you that it is every bit as delightful as the original — and in some ways, it's even better.

 

Reasons Why Drake Hall Is an Absolute Delight

1. It's grounded in family (for better and for worse). This was one of the things I loved best about the first book, and it continues here. Since Wormwood Abbey, Edith, her immediate family, and her cousins have all grown closer, and it's beautiful to see the bonds that have formed (and continue to grow) between them, whether that's Edith encouraging Gwendolyn as she steps outside of what was expected of her and towards her dreams of the future, Gwendolyn helping Edith navigate life as a keeper of dragons, or just George, Violet, and Una having their own adventures in the background. That said, this book also hits on the ways that family shapes you — and, particularly, how family can cause pain and hurt, whether that's intentional or not. We see this in multiple characters, particularly Gwendolyn, Una, and Simon. However, Baehr keeps the promise that there can be change and healing firmly in view, so this never becomes overly disheartening.
2. There are so many lovely dragons! Wormwood Abbey gave us a glimpse of a few notable dragons — but now that Edith, her parents, and her brother have been initiated into the secrets of the abbey, we see far more of these magnificent creatures. These include both the familiar — Francis and the wyvern both are frequently present on the page — to new types of dragon like the river dragon on the cover. We also see dragons from many different lands: European, Asian, and more — plus, more dragon lore! Y'all know I love lore.
3. It's simultaneously the perfect summer book and the perfect winter read. I have, to this day, only read one series that is quite as infused with the essence of summer as Drake Hall is. (That series, by the way, is the summer-vacation half of the Penderwicks books.) Baehr's description brings the lush warmth of this glorious season to life alongside the feeling of possibility that summer brings. Those qualities, plus the highly enjoyable voice, make it the perfect book for enjoying on a summer afternoon . . . or on a winter night, when the narrative will make you forget the snow outside and feel as if some of that summery-ness has found its way to you.
4. We get to know Simon Drake much better. We knew from Wormwood Abbey that he is, of course, an Excellent Gentleman well-versed in the secrets of the abbey and the dragons it guards. In Drake Hall, as one might expect, we see more of him than almost any character aside from Edith — it's not quite his book as much as hers, but it certainly comes close. As one might expect, that means we get to understand him — and the forces that shaped him into who he is — far better than we did when we started the book. And while I can't give spoilers, I will say that getting to know him more is a very pleasant experience . . .
5. The tension between tradition and change is handled very well. Aside from the family elements, the other big theme in the Secrets of Ormdale books seems to be the tension between tradition and change. Wormwood Abbey, Drake Hall, and Ormdale are very rural, traditional places, and some of those traditions are good . . . but sometimes, clinging to tradition because it's traditional or it's how things have always been can cause more hurt than harm, and we see that quite clearly in these pages. Baehr acknowledges both sides of this conflict, recognizing the good in each, and as with the family themes, she never lets the reader lose sight of the hope that things can be better than they are.
   

Are you excited for Drake Hall? What's another grounded-in-family fantasy that you love? And if you haven't read Wormwood Abbey and you're curious, you're in luck — the ebook is on sale for $0.99 through January 20, so make sure you pick that up!
Thanks for reading!

Hey'a, all! If you recall from my Fall 2023 Reads post, this season is absolutely bursting with magnificent reads, and one of the upcoming releases I was most excited about was Christine Baehr's cozy gothic debut, Wormwood Abbey. And if you read last week's Doings post, you know that this book did not disappoint . . . but I'm still so excited about it, and it's pretty much the perfect non-spooky October read, so guess what! I'm talking more about it! And giving you five reasons why you should absolutely pick up Wormwood Abbey this fall!

First, though, a quick side note — if you're in the Northern Virginia area, don't forget that I'll be at Cascades Library tomorrow, 11am to 2pm, for Eat Local, Read Local! I'll be selling and signing books alongside 70-ish other local authors, and it'll be a great time. You can find out more by clicking here. I hope I'll see you there!

You Should Absolutely Read Wormwood Abbey

1. It's gothic! With dragons! Honestly, for some of y'all, that's probably all you needed to hear. Or, quite possibly, dragons was all you needed to hear. But if you think spending time in an ancient, crumbling abbey (and an equally ancient, but less crumbling manor) that hides scaled secrets sounds like your cup of tea, well, you're in luck. This isn't a spooky read, but it's full of ruins and mysteries, of secrets long kept by oath and family tradition, of midnight ventures through dark hallways, of strange inheritances, of hidden dangers and the meeting of the supernatural with the natural. And, of course, full of strange creatures that just might be the dragons of legend . . .
2. Edith is such a lovely lead. I simply adore her, and that's a fact. Outwardly, she's a proper clergy's daughter — but at the same time, she's secretly a writer of sensational mysteries. Given that I am also a writer of (hopefully) sensational mysteries, I feel a proper kinship with her, and I wish she were real so we could be friends. Besides that, though, she's reasonably sensible and good-hearted, but not without a proper appreciation for drama and adventure. And while she does occasionally slip up or procrastinate on telling people things, there was never a point where I was genuinely frustrated with her.
3. The family elements are so wonderful. Edith has an excellent relationship with her immediate family — she loves and gets along with her parents and much-younger brother, and they support her in turn. I particularly loved the fact that Edith's parents are still an important part of her life, even though she's at the age where a lot of authors would have her be aching to be free of them. Her relationships with this part of her family grounds the book, providing steady footing as we and Edith explore the secrets of her extended family. I also enjoyed seeing the tentative friendship growing between Edith and Gwendolyn, her oldest cousin. Gwendolyn, we find, has borne the weight of her world for quite some time, so she's slow to trust, but it's lovely to see her and Edith eventually come to support each other.
4. The writing style is delightful. It's first-person narration with lovely little asides here and there — much like the style of Rowntree's Miss Sharp and Miss Dark books, it feels period-appropriate, yet still modern. And Edith is an excellent narrator — it's like hearing a story told by a new friend. (Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part . . .) Plus, she's both a writer (as already mentioned) and a reader, which means we get her occasionally doing things like referencing Austen and Bronte or considering how her lead character would handle particular situations. It's such fun!
5. It's just a lovely comfort read. The stakes are high enough to keep you from easily setting the book down, but not so high that reading this will stress you out. There's loveliness amid the mysteries and ruins and friendship and familial love despite the long-kept secrets. It's like the literary equivalent of enjoying a cup of hot tea-with-cream-and-sugar and several slices of pumpkin bread (or insert your hot-beverage-and-fall-treat combo of choice). And, truly, I couldn't recommend it more.
   

Does Wormwood Abbey have you intrigued? What about it sounds most interesting to you? What's a little-known dragon book or fall comfort read you love? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Thoughts on Second Chance Superhero

Hey'a, all! First of all, today is the final day of nominations for the Silmaril Awards, so if you haven't already gone in and nominated and seconded your favorite characters, make sure you do that before it's too late! Moving on: as y'all may know, I've been following H.L. Burke's Supervillain Rehabilitation Project universe for a while now. While I'm not totally caught up, I did manage to snag an ARC of the latest book in this world, Second Chance Superhero. This is the third in a set of standalone spinoffs that focus more on the superhero side than the supervillain side of things. I really enjoyed this book — as I have pretty much all the books in this universe — and since Second Chance Superhero releases tomorrow, I thought I'd stop in and share my thoughts.

About . . .

Second Chance Superhero

Once a slacker, now a superhero, but will his ex buy the change?

Eleven years ago, Brayden Water's high school sweetheart slammed the door in his face. Floundering, he found purpose first in the military, then by volunteering for genetic enhancements and joining the Department of Super-Abled as a full-time hero. Just when everything's looking up, a family emergency summons him back to the hometown he gleefully put in his rearview. And guess who else is back in town?

Rachel Blum has had it with men in general. A single mom who managed to scratch her way through medical school, she's accepted that she can't depend on anyone ... especially not her sometimes criminal baby daddy, and definitely not her high school ex who has popped up out of nowhere after a decade of radio silence. Dang, though, Brayden's even hotter than she remembered, and there's ... something different about him now, though she can't quite put her finger on what. Could he really have finally gotten his act together? Can she take the risk?

Brayden's bitterness over Rachel's rejection slowly turns to admiration and begrudging affection. But even if he drops the fact that he can now fly and shoot lasers out of his eyes, will she ever see him as anything but a small-town loser? When her son's father starts causing trouble, though, Brayden realizes, she might just need a hero in her life after all.

Order on Amazon || Add on Goodreads || Discover the SVR series

H.L. Burke

H. L. Burke has written more books than she can count—because she's written a lot of books, not just because she can't count very high. Easily distracted by shinies, she has published in many subgenres including fantasy romance, Steampunk, and superhero, and always creates story worlds with snark, feels, and wonder.

Married to her high school crush, she spends her time writing, spoiling her cat, and supervising her two supervillains in training (aka her precocious daughters).

An Oregon native, she wilts without trees and doesn't mind the rain. She is a fan of delicious flavor, a follower of the Light, and a believer in happily ever after.

Find Heidi online at: Author Website || Facebook || Instagram || Twitter

Thoughts on Second Chance Superhero

1. This is definitely a romance first and a superhero story second. Some of you are looking at me and saying "No duh, Sarah, it says Superhero Romance Project right there in the series name. What did you expect?" Whether or not you are one of those people, I would like to point out that many of H.L. Burke's superhero or supervillain romances are superhero and romance in equal part. Second Chance Superhero, on the other hand, is primarily a romance that happens to involve a superhero as one half of the romantic pair. There's a little bit of suspense and action, and what's there is very well-done as always, but it's far from the main focus of the book. That's not a bad thing by any means, but it is good to know what to expect going in.
2. Speaking of knowing what to expect: pretty much everything you love about H.L. Burke's writing and the SVR-verse is here. Well, unless you read these books exclusively for the Powell and Park families. But otherwise, this book has everything! Superheroes! Snark! Humor! Characters who feel like real people, with all the messiness that entails! Excellent relationships of both the romantic and non-romantic varieties! So much good stuff!
3. The romance is very sweet and shippable. Well, it ends up sweet. It starts with heartbreak that both parties are still feeling fifteen years later (even if they deny it). Basically, you have childhood/high school sweethearts who broke up but still care a lot about each other, and I am so here for it. Burke handles the relationship so well — acknowledging the inherent awkwardness of the situation without dwelling on it too much, letting the feelings well back up at a good pace, allowing for the inevitable period of I'm-totally-just-being-friendly-I'm-not-in-love-what-are-you-talking-about without dragging it out. (Side note: the "Noooo I'm totally not in love" in-denial trope is hard to do well, but when it is done well, I actually really love it. It gives such delicious irony.) And, as in all of Burke's books, the romance is a good balance between physical attraction and admiration of the other's character.
4. I love that the parent/child relationships in this book are almost as important (if not just as important) as the romance. Like, yes, the romance here is the main draw. But this is very much also a book about parent-child relationships, some good (like Rachel and her son, Danny, or Rachel and her father, Joel) and some awful (like Brayden's relationship with his mom, who is going to end up one of the most despised characters in SVR for the same reason that everyone hates Umbridge in Harry Potter). Burke spends a good bit of page time exploring the ways that these relationships have shaped the characters. Also on this note: I absolutely love Joel Blum. I'm a sucker for granddad characters, and I also loved the interactions between him and Rachel. I could be forgetting things, but I feel like positive relationships between parents and adult kids are really rare in speculative fiction? And here we have one that's loving and healthy and important, and it's so good.
5. I would definitely read more about these characters. Do Brayden, Rachel, and Danny need another book? Not really. But would I read more about them anyway, if Burke came up with another storyline featuring them or decided to bring them into other stories. I love the characters as individuals, and I love their relationships and dynamics together.
   

Does Second Chance Superhero sound like your cup of tea? If so, make sure to preorder it on Amazon and add it on Goodreads. And before you go, tell me in the comments: in the balance of superhero and romance, do you prefer an equal blend or more of one or the other? Also, if you know of any spec-fic books featuring positive parent-and-adult-kid relationships, please let me know of that too.
Thanks for reading!

Hey'a! So, as you may remember, earlier in the year, Jenelle Leanne Schmidt ran a Kickstarter campaign for her new series, The Turrim Archive, which starts with The Orb and the Airship. Because I am still a sucker for all things steampunk and because I was insanely curious after hearing about this series on Jenelle's blog for the last five years, I backed the Kickstarter, which meant I got a super-early copy of the first book (before the ARC readers, even) . . . and y'all, it is so good. And since the book releases for general purchase today, I thought now would be a great time to tell y'all why you absolutely need to pick up a copy.

You Need to Read The Orb and the Airship

1. It's a super cool blend of steampunk and traditional epic fantasy. The scope of the world and half the plot feels very traditional epic fantasy — Wheel of Time-ish, but without the constant distrust and suspicion. You've got the old man in a mysterious tower with equally mysterious powers, the small-town boys heading out into the world, the threat of great and ancient evil, all that good stuff. But many other elements of the world, as well as the other half of the plot, are very much steampunk, with trains and airships and inventors and sky pirates — not to mention that the boys are setting out for military school, not a quest. Or, at least, that's what they intended when they started their journey . . .
   
2. Marik and his crew are just plain awesome. If you love Firefly or The Aeronaut's Windlass, Marik's half of the plot will probably be your favorite part of the book. (It certainly was mine.) Marik is a captain in the fine tradition of Mal Reynolds and Francis Grimm, a hero by nature and an outcast by circumstance, loyal to his crew and his principle. I loved his interactions with his crew and how he really does view them as his family. 
3. The friendship between the boys is lovely. Grayden and Wynn, our main characters for the more epic fantasy half of the plot, may not have drawn me in as quickly as Marik did, but I still enjoyed reading their friendship. Though they're very different people, they've known each other forever, and they support each other and have each other's backs in the best way. Things just get better once Berengar joins their group — I can't say a lot about him because of spoilers, but he's my favorite character after Marik for very good reason, and I deeply wish he existed in real life so I could be friends with him. He's a big guy, but his heart is bigger than his muscles, and he's absolutely loyal, and I just love him a lot, ok?
4. The story is satisfying on its own . . . but it also definitely sets you up to wish for more. On its own, The Orb and the Airship is an exciting adventure that brings together exploration and airship heists and daring rescues, along with a healthy dose of character tension, and then brings it all to a highly satisfying conclusion. That said, once you discover the world and the characters — and once you read the last chapters — you'll definitely find yourself eager for the next book in the series. (I know I am !)
5. There's no stress about stumbling into something inappropriate. A major frustration I have with both steampunk stories and certain epic fantasy series (that may have already been named in this post) is that, even while they're exciting and fun to read, every so often I'll run into scenes or elements that make me decidedly uncomfortable — they may not be explicit, but they're clearly meant to excite in a certain way. That's not a problem here. This is a book that I, as an adult, enjoyed quite a lot, but I'd also have no problem handing it to my preteen, just-getting-into-fantasy self (or to any currently-extant preteens in my life, if there were any). Such books are often hard to find, so I'm glad this one exists.

Sound like your cup of tea? You can order The Orb and the Airship in ebook, hardcover, or audiobook on Amazon now! And in the meantime, what about this book sounds most appealing to you? Please tell me in the comments! (Also, if you've already read the book, feel free to tell me what YOU loved best about it in the comments section! I am all for mutual fangirling.)
Thanks for reading!

Hello, all! As some of you may be aware, Kendra E. Ardnek just dropped four new Beauty and the Beast retellings: Snow Quest Like Home (which combines B&B with The Snow Queen and a few other stories — plus bonus crossover with another series!), Fairer Than Beauty (a Twist of Adventure in which the main character did not want to be in this story), The Dragon (a Western fairytale I haven't read yet), and Thornrose Estate, which blends Beauty and the Beast with Northanger Abbey and rapidly claimed the spot of Favorite Austen Fairy Tale. Seriously, y'all — I loved this story so much, and I think you will too. And, of course, I'm going to give you all the reasons why.

Reasons to Love Thornrose Estate

1. Calla is such a relatable heroine. This may be a surprise to those who read Snowfield Palace, but once we see Calla out of Rina's shadow . . . oh, I would so be friends with her! As with her Austen equivalent, she's a bookworm and, dare I say, fangirl who takes refuge in her favorite stories and tends to view life in narrative terms, and it gives me life every time she reflects on the narrative appropriateness of particular occurrences. And I think her struggle — trying to navigate life away from home and family in a world where there always seems to be info she's missing and working to figure out who she is in the face of who others are telling her she should be — is something that will resonate with most of us.
   
2. Hansel is an absolute delight of a love interest. Simultaneously the voice of reason in many circumstances and an absolute sweetheart with regard to his loved ones, including Calla, Hansel is the most sensible person in the entire book, and I love him for it. He's his sister's staunch defender, and he reaches out to help and support Calla when others leave her floundering, and he's just generally wonderful. I only wish that we could've seen even more of him than we did, since he and Calla are so lovely together.
3. The villains are eminently loathable. You know how, with regard to the Harry Potter fandom, fans tend to hate Umbridge so much more than Voldemort because Umbridge is a familiar villain, one of a type they've probably encountered themselves at some point? That's what Kendra does here with the villains in Thornrose. We have the manipulators, the false friends who make it seem like they care for you but are only really using you for their own ends. (Can't say who those are, but if you've read Snowfield, you probably have a good guess about one of them, and if you've read NA, you can guess the other.) And we also have the John/Gaston character in Johnston, a man whose pride makes Calla's strengths into something he has to "forgive" and who's more than happy to ignore her discomfort with his attentions if it means getting what he wants. And, let me tell you, it is so satisfying to see them get their due in the end.
4. So many mysteries to unravel — and it's very satisfying to get some answers! If you've read Snowfield Palace, you know that Kendra left us all on quite the cliffhanger with many, many unanswered questions. Thornrose Estate finally gives us some answers, but sparingly, and Kendra weaves them in with other mysteries: why can't Calla remember half her life — and why does she keep losing bits and pieces of more recent memory? Why do so many important people seem to have such an interest in her? And what the pumpernickel is going on with the Forest? Calla's memory means she's often just as uncertain as we are, but we know just enough more than she does to put pieces together, and the effect is just so good. It's one of the main reasons I ended up devouring the second half of the book in one night.
5. Northanger Abbey and Beauty and the Beast are an excellent pairing. Kendra hasn't missed once on her fairy tale and Austen combos! I will say that this is much more Northanger Abbey than it is Beauty and the Beast — while there are plenty of B&B elements, this doesn't really read like a straight retelling of that fairy tale. The story does make up for this somewhat by giving us two in-world versions of B&B that Calla loves and uses as the chief basis for trying to figure out all the strangeness she's stumbled into. That said, even if you look at it as just a Northanger Abbey retelling, Thornrose Estate is excellent.

If you haven't already preordered Thornrose Estate, you can pick it up on Amazon now! So, how excited are you for this retelling? And who's the most relatable protagonist or familiarly-loathable villain you've ever encountered? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Good morning, everyone! Last week, I spotlighted the spring 2023 releases I'm most excited about, and today I'm back with a review of one of those new releases: Dark Clouds, book 2 in Miss Dark's Apparitions, a spinoff of Suzannah Rowntree's fabulous historical fantasy mystery series, Miss Sharp's Monsters. The Miss Dark series follows Miss Molly Dark, a young lady-turned-con-artist with the ability to see ghostly "imprints." Book One saw Miss Dark roped into a scheme to defraud monstrous royalty of a fortune by impersonating a long-lost princess; now our heroine has found herself a member of a group of thieves and schemers attempting to use their talents to set right some of the wrongs in the world — in this case, by stealing a cursed diamond to return to its rightful owners. The book just released yesterday, March 23, and is available on Kindle and possibly elsewhere. But I managed to score an ARC, so if you're on the fence about picking it up, I have five reasons why you absolutely should.

You Should Definitely Read Dark Clouds If . . .

1. You're a Leverage fan who occasionally thinks the show would be even better if it involved some literal monsters, not just figurative ones. Rowntree bills Dark Clouds as "perfect for fans of Leverage and The Parasol Protectorate," and the first half of that description couldn't be more accurate. Reading this feels very much like watching an episode of the show, from the grand heist to set right a wrong committed by those too powerful to be prosecuted by normal means to the schemes and twists involved in carrying out that heist. Let me tell you, it's an absolute delight. Of course, even if you're not a Leverage fan, if you enjoy a good heist and a plot driven by clever characters fully exercising their cleverness, you'll still love this. Plus, the antagonist of this book — Vandergriff, an American "prosthete" (read: gaslamp-era cyborg) multi-millionaire who tracks down jewel thieves as a hobby — is simply excellent, with just the right blend of rough charm, casual menace, and keen wit to make him a formidable, but intriguing, opponent and a very interesting change of pace from Rowntree's usual antagonists in this world.
   
2. You know that it's the team (and their dynamics) that makes the heist. It's the characters that make or break a book, and that's never more true than when it comes to a heist story. I can think of multiple books where an excellent concept and thrilling scheme fell flat because the characters and the dynamics between them just weren't working. The key, of course, is that the team has to be a team — yes, they have their differences in opinion and agenda as well as skill set, they have clashes of personality and motive. But when the chips are down and the heat is on, they're working together, and they know and understand each other well enough to do that. And yes, maybe you have an edge or two of potential betrayal, just for spice, but in order for the reader to care, in order to get maximum impact when the potential traitor makes their choice, you have to have that strong team dynamic. Rowntree knows this, and she clearly gives plenty of care to developing both the characters and their dynamics, especially now that they really are starting to work as a properly intentional team, rather than the more tentative alliances in Tall and Dark.
3. You want to see more of our favorite Grand Disaster Duke. As already stated, all the characters get some magnificent development in this story, but I particularly want to call out Vasily here. He continues to be a mess, caught between the monster that he's been and the person who he could be, between the self-serving lifestyle he still tries to maintain and a reluctant attachment to the other members of the crew. He's growing, but reluctantly — partially because he's surrounded by people who aren't taken in by his act. And, of course, his interactions with Miss Molly Dark are an absolute delight. He's coming around to caring very much for her, I daresay, even if he sometimes has an unusual way of showing it, and I don't think he entirely wants to admit just how far it goes. Plus, having a rival/nemesis in the form of the aforementioned Vandergriff makes for some very interesting dynamics and interactions.
4. You love sibling and family dynamics. Dark Clouds takes place in London, Molly's home . . . and the home of her sisters, who she loves and would very much like to keep far away from any schemes, heists, and similar. You can probably guess about how well that goes. But it was a delight to see Molly interacting with her sisters, to see how much she cares about them and they care for her. And as for the interactions between the sisters and Molly's new friends, well . . . let's just say that they make for some of my favorite chapters in the book.
5. You enjoy stories about the tension between different cultures. Not solely about, mind you — this is a heist adventure. But it's also set in England during the Victorian Era, when the British Empire was at its height, and the cursed diamond at the story's center is part of the rather ill-gotten spoils of conquest. And retrieving that diamond requires one of the team, Nijam, to come to terms with a heritage that she's spent most of her life despising. Rowntree handles these elements of the plot well, using them to deepen the story without drowning it and providing a read that's enjoyable in the moment and gives you something to chew on later.

Tall and Dark came out just this past weekend — have you read it yet? Are you going to read it? If you're a fellow Miss Sharp fan, how excited are you to return to this world? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Hey'a, all! If you've been following Bryan Davis's Oculus Gate series, you may already be aware that the final book, On Earth As It Is in Hell, released this month. This series has been such a wild ride, and I'm sure plenty of people were eagerly waiting to see how it would all wrap up. I'm here to provide my thoughts on the story and its ending — and, if anyone is on the fence about picking it up, to hopefully nudge you one way or the other. Of course, if you've already made up your mind, you can go order it on Amazon or add it to your Goodreads shelves.

Thoughts About On Earth As It Is in Hell

1. This is a story with family at its core. That's the case with most of Davis's books, which I think is a big reason why I enjoy them. It's especially true of this one, where father-daughter relationships (or, more loosely, parent-child ones) really form the heart of the story and drive the narrative. We have Leo and Ben both putting everything on the line to protect and guide Iona, as they have many times before, and we have Iona grappling with her relationship with the man who raised her and some revelations about the kind of person he was. It all comes together into a really excellent theme.
2. This one definitely feels darker than the others in the series. I think it's because, rather than dealing with a single villain or even single group of villains, a lot of this book is confronting the sin and darkness present in the world as a whole, including human trafficking, abortion, and various forms of abuse, both overt and more subtle. As usual, Davis handles the topics well, but he also doesn't shy away from showing these tragedies or their effects, which means this may be a hard book to read at times — though it's certainly worth reading if you can handle it.
3. I really want to go back and reread/finish reading the Reapers trilogy. I never actually finished reading the Reapers trilogy due to it coming out while I was at Cedarville and was therefore falling behind on 90% of new releases (plus the fact that I didn't love the first book as much as some Davis books, and therefore had lower motivation to read the rest of the trilogy instead of reading other new books that I was more excited about). But reading the Oculus Gate series, especially this one and Heaven Came Down, make me want to fix that — not because I'm confused for lack of knowledge, but because the stuff being drawn from that series strikes me as cool and means I'm more interested in going back to it. (The series also makes me want to reread Time Echoes, but that's pretty much normal regardless of what I've been reading lately.)
4. As with Heaven Came Down, this is probably best enjoyed if you reread the rest of the Oculus Gate books before you read this one. Had I been a bit smarter, I would have remembered that and refreshed my memory just so I didn't end up scrambling in some cases to remember the significance of particular things that happen or are referenced. These books are so packed with twists, turns, and everything happening all at once that sometimes things get lost. It's still enjoyable even if you don't have time to go back and revisit the rest of the series, though, so don't let that stop you from picking it up.
5. I do think that the denouement could have used a little more breathing room so that certain things didn't feel quite so convenient. This may be a case of the pot calling the kettle black, and there were definitely some elements of the story's end that I very much appreciated. However, there were also a few developments that felt a bit like Davis was just trying to wrap up plot threads as quickly as possible so he didn't accidentally end up needing to write another book. It's not a huge issue, and it does work, but it is something I think could have been done better.

Have you been keeping up with the Oculus Gate series? Are you excited for the series conclusion? Do you tend to prefer long or short wrap-ups? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Hello all! Over the last couple weeks, I have been rereading Schlock Mercenary, a completed sci-fi adventure webcomic chronicling the escapades of a group of space mercenaries as they get into and out of trouble in their repeated efforts to stay alive, make payroll, and repeatedly save the galaxy. Some of you — possibly a fair number of you — may have heard of it already; it ran consistently for twenty years, and it was nominated for a few awards in that time (and I'm not sure which of those is the bigger accomplishment). However, knowing my audience, I wouldn't be surprised if a good number of y'all either haven't heard of it or heard of it and wrote it off. So, given that it has occupied a lot of my brainspace lately — and also given that there's currently a Kickstarter running to get Book 17 in print — I figured I'd share my thoughts on it.

(Side note — you absolutely should go check out the Kickstarter, especially if you already love the webcomic but haven't been keeping up with news since it ended. There's lots of shiny stuff. Also, stretch goals! Most have already been reached, but there are some recently-added ones still to go!)

Why I Love the Schlock Mercenary Webcomic

1. It's a huge, weird, colorful universe, alien in the best possible way. Reading Schlock Mercenary, you get the impression that a major part of Howard Tayler's worldbuilding method is asking "What would be the weirdest, most fun option?" and then following that up with, "How can I make that work in a way that's believable?" And let me tell you, he does a magnificent job of answering both questions, creating a galaxy that's vibrant and strange and full of weird, wonderful life with equally weird (but sometimes less wonderful) cultures — where you can have a superintelligent AI puppetmaster whose avatar happens to look like a cuddly koala, a sweet-natured, terrifyingly efficient mech-bug medic (for whom internal organs are semi-optional), amorphs like the title character, and more. Everything feels believable, lived-in, down to specific idioms used by particular alien races.
2. Even the most alien characters and cultures are very human in the important ways. Very few, if any, of the Schlock Mercenary characters are perfect heroes. Tagon and his Toughs don't have a problem with saving the day, but once it's been saved, they'd like to end it with a heavy paycheck (and if they can get paid twice, even better). Petey and the Fleetmind want to protect the galaxy, but they'll cross lines and manipulate both friends and enemies as necessary in order to achieve their goals. Morally grey is possibly the term I would apply, if it didn't conjure up associations of angsty, goth-adjacent anti-heroes. But the humanness, the fact that these characters' natural inclination is so obviously not always towards doing good, is what makes their character growth and the many, many times when they choose to act heroically despite everything truly sing.
3. It's harder sci-fi without being intimidating. TV Tropes categorizes it as being in the "Physics Plus" category, which means it's almost entirely scientifically plausible. And it's impossible to miss the fact that Tayler has put an immense amount of thought into How Stuff Works on pretty much every level, which is a good thing, given that many of the overarching plotlines stem from technology and its effects on culture and the world. However, you don't have to be an engineer to keep up — Tayler works the important explanation into the story in a way that's natural and easy to read, and bonus information goes in footnotes for those who want it. And as I've already touched on, this doesn't have the grim, cynical, and angsty vibe that I, at least, tend to associate with a lot of other hard sci-fi. In fact . . .
4. It's just the perfect balance of humor and seriousness. Yes, it's a joke-a-day webcomic. Yes, every strip ends with a punchline. Yes, as I already said, there's a lot of worldbuilding and character elements that probably had their start in "You know what would be really funny?" And yes, most of the humor is very good, especially once you get past the first few storylines (which do contain a higher percentage of "haha, gender-based stereotype"/"haha, innuendo"/"haha, you know what the main character resembles?" than the rest of the comic). But this is also a story about courage and sacrifice and friendship. It's a story about being a leader and making the tough choices that come with that. It's a story about free will and what it means to have it. It is a story that, to paraphrase my favorite Sanderson quote, doesn't tell you what to think, but certainly asks you to think and gives you questions to think upon. Like all great stories, it rewards whatever amount of thought and effort you put into it — but even if you only put in a little, you can get a lot out. (And, if you ask me, it takes an astonishing amount to do as much as this story does while still delivering on the humor side of things.)
5. I am forever astonished at how Howard Tayler can turn a throwaway detail (or joke) into a magnificent plot twist. This is, obviously, hard to discuss without giving away spoilers, which is why you should read the comic if you haven't already (and also why you shouldn't skip the early strips if you can avoid doing so). Suffice it to say that just because something is silly does not mean it's not important and that, when it comes to storytelling cleverness, Tayler is in the same class with Brandon Sanderson (appropriate, since they have a podcast together) and Megan Whalen Turner.

Have you read Schlock Mercenary? What did you think of it — and if you're a fan, what makes you love the series? On the other hand, if you haven't read it yet, have I successfully tempted you to give it a try? It's long (twenty years of daily comics!), but extremely bingeable. If that much comic sounds kind of intimidating (or if you're giving the early art a sceptical side-eye), you can pick up with the Longshoreman of the Apocalypse storyline, which is about halfway through and will give you a good feel for the characters and storytelling style. (That said, if you find you enjoy it, I do recommend going back and reading from the beginning! There's a lot of good stuff, and it's fun to watch the art evolve.) Whatever you think, please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!