Archives for November 2018

The Kite Maker by Brenda Peynado


The Kite Maker by Brenda Peynado
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (28 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The Kite Maker is Brenda Peynado’s science fiction novelette of how humans cope with alien contact.

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There are many different types of prejudice out there. Is it any wonder that humans might be prejudiced against aliens, too, if we ever met them?

The main character was someone I related to quite a bit because of how gentle and kind she was when the opening scene began. It was hard to imagine someone like that carrying a dark secret around with her, but as soon as I learned about the existence of it I wanted to know more about her past. There were parts of her story that didn’t seem to fit together at first. More than anything, I wished to find out how they were all related to each other.

It would have been helpful to have more time dedicated to the final scene. As much as I liked the imagery in it, I did have some trouble tying it to what had happened before. There simply weren’t enough hints earlier on that this would be the way things would be wrapped up, so I was left trying to fit what I did know together without being entirely sure it was what the author had intended for the audience to think.

This tale had some interesting things to say about xenophobia and how it can blind someone to the truth. The best part of this message for me was how subtle it was. The plot always came first in the narrator’s mind, but it carried along with it little reminders of the damage hatred does not only to the target but to the people who have chosen to or been taught to hate as well. I can’t say much else about this without giving away spoilers, but I was pleased with how the author decided to broach such a complex topic without resorting to stereotypes.

I’d recommend The Kite Maker to anyone who wishes they could change something about the past.

Don’t Give In by Lynn Burke


Don’t Give In by Lynn Burke
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (77 pages)
Other: M/F, BDSM, Spanking, Toys, Anal Play
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Nothing like being thrown into a stranger’s arms on the subway to make a woman realize what she’s been missing. The dominance in the hunk’s eyes reminds Stacey Lauren of her secret, dark desire to be bound. Used. The lifestyle she dreamed of before finding a safe existence. One she refuses to give in to.

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Will Stacey have the courage to surrender herself to Devon, or will her need for a safe life keep them from the one thing they both long for?

Stacey is stunned by the handsome man on the train against whom she is being pressed by the commuter crush. The attraction she feels appears mutual when Devon exchanges phone numbers with her. Stacy tries to keep her failing relationship together but her attraction to Devon is just too strong. He’s everything she truly desires in a man – if only she has the strength to reach for it.

I found this to be an interesting and somewhat different style of story. Normally I don’t enjoy stories where one or the other of the main couple is already in a committed relationship. The break-down of a romance is usually fraught with so much pain and problems I can never really believe that a fresh and healthy relationship can bloom immediately after a serious split. But in this story the author clearly showed how Stacey already had plenty of qualms about her relationship with Kyle and how they were already teetering on the edge of splitting. I also really appreciated that while Devon made his interest clear, he didn’t dominate or push Stacey into any action until after she’d broken up with Kyle and come to Devon. I know some romance readers mightn’t like the quickness with which Stacey moved her affections, and this part of the plot was quite central to the start of the story, but I really feel there’s so much more in this story than just the changeover from one partner to the next.

My only slight qualm with this story was a coincidence that felt a little too pat for me – the fact that Devon knew an old, very good friend of Stacey’s. Devon and Stacey met on the train and I enjoyed the randomness of this and the fact they both felt such a fierce desire for each other. I understand that from a plot perspective it neatened things after Stacey explained she was in a long-term relationship that Devon had another point of contact in Stacey’s life – but it just felt like a bit of an over-reach for me and stretched believability too thin for me, personally. Except for this, though, I thought the rest of the story felt wonderfully realistic and there were quite a few points with Stacey that I could genuinely empathize with

The sex was smoking hot and just kinky enough to live up to my expectations. I enjoyed Devon and Stacey’s characters and was pleased to see them find their way together.

The Woods by Paul Hoppe


The Woods by Paul Hoppe
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (44 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Being afraid of the dark doesn’t mean being afraid alone. When a boy can’t find his favorite stuffed bunny, he bravely heads into the woods to look for it. Instead, he finds a big, scary brown bear! But the bear is just lonely, so the boy shares his night light and forges ahead with his new companion, until…they run into two frightening giants! As the boy continues on, he comes across other seemingly menacing creatures, but finds that—like him—they’re just looking for some comfort and security before bedtime. Simple text and classic European style meet a fresh, modern twist in this delightful picture book.

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The amount and types of conflict was perfect for the age group it was written for. There were definitely a few scary moments, but they were always handled with kindness. I wouldn’t hesitate to read this to even the most sensitive child due to how wonderfully the author dealt with the frightening things that can happen when someone goes tromping into the woods to find their favorite toy.

With that being said, the ending was less satisfactory. The narrator’s explanation for why the main character’s quest had ended wasn’t a very detailed one. While the basic framework was there to explain what happened to his bunny, it would have been helpful to know more about how and why that toy was stolen. There was so much more room to cover here, and it would have easily persuaded me to give it a much higher rating if the narrator had been willing to explain more of this part of the plot to the audience.

One of the best parts of this book had to do with how the monsters were handled. The main character kept running into these creatures as he wandered around in the woods looking for his toy. Without giving away too many details, they all had excellent reasons for behaving the way that they did. It was a great deal of fun to find out what those reasons were and see how the protagonist reacted to them once he got to know them a bit better.

The Woods should be read by any family who likes to follow the same bedtime routine every night.

Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light by Sarah McCarry


Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light by Sarah McCarry
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (24 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sarah McCarry’s “Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light” is about a lonely young woman, recently moved to the big city, who is looking for love. What she finds is a friend and confidante who is much older and wiser than she.

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The sarcasm in this story made me smile. It existed for a specific reason, and it served that purpose well. I especially liked how it poked fun at a specific fantasy sub-genre while also wandering into that type of storytelling at times and when necessary. The contradiction between these two things was as unexpected as it was amusing.

This tale could have been interpreted in one of two contradictory ways. While I can’t go into detail about what those ways were without giving away spoilers, I do wish the narrator had given the audience more hints about both options. I adore ambiguous fiction, but I prefer to be able to point out multiple parts of a text that make it sound like a specific theory could be the right one. There weren’t quite enough examples of this for me to go for a five-star rating even though I loved the concept in general.

The most interesting scenes to me were the ones that could have easily happened in the real world because they dealt with the main character’s crushing loneliness. This wasn’t something I was expecting the narrator to cover when there were so many other things going on for the characters, but it was handled beautifully. I could feel the protagonists loneliness growing heavier by the minute. It gave me a lot of sympathy for her and made me hope she’d figure out a solution to her problems soon.

Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light should be read by anyone who prefers their vampires dark and dangerous.

Ghost Hedgehog by Nina Kiriki Hoffman


Ghost Hedgehog by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (28 pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

With all the places ghosts could go, why do they keep hanging around me?

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One of the most interesting parts of this story involved the way the ghosts behaved in it. Most of the paranormal fiction I read is about vengeful spirits, but that didn’t describe these characters well at all. Despite the fact that they were deceased, they behaved in pretty similar ways to how the living would act in the same situations. At first I was surprised by this change, but I soon grew to like it quite a bit.

There was only one small thing I wish had been done differently with this tale, and it had to do with how the characters talked about the evil entities in this universe called Shades. Their descriptions of these creatures were deliciously frightening when they were talking about what Shades were capable of doing to humans. However, there wasn’t as much attention paid to the history of these things. It would have been nice to have a bit more information about where they came from and why they were so dangerous to the living.

The character development was strong. By the final scene, I was wishing that this had been the first chapter of a full-length novel instead so that I could continue to see how Jack evolved as a result of his ability to see and communicate with the dead. As satisfied as I was by how everything was wrapped up, I also saw so many exciting possibilities for future adventures for this character. Hopefully, the author will write them one day.

Ghost Hedgehog made me shudder in the best possible way. I’d wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves reading about hauntings.

The Folk: Magical Research by Meg Benjamin – Guest Blog and Giveaway


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Meg Benjamin will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The Folk: Magical Research

I started writing the Folk series a while ago, knowing nothing about fairies beyond the usual. And by “the usual” I mean pretty much Midsummer Night’s Dream and a very obscure Kipling children’s book called Puck of Pook’s Hill. I knew I needed to do some research on the subject, although I hadn’t much of a clue how to start. Googling fairies gets you over 150 million results.

Enter Anna Franklin. Her Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fairies is a delight, as well as essential reading for somebody like me. She covers everything from generic topics like spinning/weaving (the heroine of Unseen, Marika Sager, is a weaver for a reason) or clothes to the most esoteric, like Havfine (Norwegian mermaids) or Medb (an Irish succubus). After spending some time with Franklin, I decided I wanted to bring a variety of European fairies to America—why wouldn’t fairies emigrate like their non-supernatural cousins?

I concentrated on groups of fairies who lived in mountains or woodlands, since I figured those were the beings who’d most likely gravitate toward the Rockies (I already knew I wanted the series to take place in Colorado). Kobolds were a natural. They’re northern European mine fairies, and the name derives from coboldus, Latin for mountain spirit. My present-day Kobolds live in Nederland, an actual town in the mountains above Boulder. The hero’s assistant in Unseen, Reynard, is half Kobold, although he’s not all that fond of his relatives, who own a sand and gravel business. Another group of mountain fairies were the Erdluitle, who come from Switzerland. In their natural setting they live in caves and can bring both avalanches and fertile soil. I put a group of Erdluitle in Animas, the town where Unseen takes place.

My hero, Teran Richter, is part Seelie—not a fairy group that’s particularly associated with mountains, but one that’s famous for being gorgeous (they’re Scottish aristocrats). Teran isn’t particularly aristocratic and he loves Colorado, but he’s also part mortal, so that may explain his non-Seelie traits.

I also have a couple of new Folk in Unseen, but their nature is sort of a secret, as are their names. Since I’m not going to provide spoilers for my own book, I’ll let you discover them on your own.

I really enjoy the world building with the Folk; the characters are great fun to work with. I hope you’ll enjoy stepping into their world, too. After all, the message of the Folk is clear: you never know what’s going on just beneath the surface. Maybe your next-door neighbor is Erdluitle or the couple down the street are Silvani (the women are Silvane). With the Erdluitle, you can always check his feet—they’re supposed to have duck paddles. But maybe they won’t look any different—maybe they’ve evolved in a new way.

You never can tell.

Beauty model girl with healthy brown hair

Teran Richter is in Animas, Colorado, to find members of the Folk, a simple task. But the annual Animas Fall Festival brings hordes of tourists and daily celebrations that make it frustrating. Things begin to look up when Teran meets Marika Sager. Marika’s business partner Eva seems to be a member of the Folk, only it’s Marika Teran’s attracted to, particularly after a local witch’s brew sends the two into a memorable night of passion.

But there are sinister forces at work in Animas. Teran’s attacked and his assistant is kidnapped. When Marika also disappears, Teran’s forced to confront the truth: someone is out to sabotage his mission and destroy anyone who tries to help. With an eccentric team of magical allies, Teran must rescue Marika and fight off those who want to destroy both him and the Folk. But can he find a way to confront the shadowy forces while keeping himself and his lover safe from harm?

Enjoy an Excerpt

The flash of heat zapped along Teran’s backbone, branching out into the nerves along his shoulders, then into his arms. He jerked with the force of it, and the heat ripped to his sides and out. The fog glowed red as his power crashed into it.

It thinned before it gathered once again.

They pushed forward quickly, but not quickly enough.

“Can you increase the voltage?” Reynard muttered.

“If I knew what I was doing, I might be able to. Since I’m playing it by ear, I don’t know. I’ll try once more.” He took a deep breath, then concentrated. This time the power snaked through his body more quickly—he felt it all the way to the back of his head. For a moment he felt as if he were glowing, and then the blast flew outward into the mist.

And shot back toward them.

“Holy crap,” Reynard cried, throwing himself flat on the ground.

Teran had time to hunch over, protecting his head. The power blast washed over him like a superheated wave. It felt like he’d singed his hair.

Terrific. What the hell kind of Seelie singes his own goddamn hair with his own goddamn power blast? A reluctant Seelie, obviously.

About the Author: Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance. Her newest series, the Folk, is a paranormal trilogy set in Colorado. Meg’s Konigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available from Entangled Publishing). Along with contemporary romance, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from Berkley InterMix. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers.

Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Instagram

Buy the book from Amazon.

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Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by J M Bergen


Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by J M Bergen
Publisher: Elandrian Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Young Adult
Length: Full length (352 pages)
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

Thomas thinks he’s an ordinary twelve year old, but when a strange little man with gold-flecked eyes gives him an ancient text called The Book of Sorrows, the world he knows is turned upside down. Suddenly he’s faced with a secret family legacy, powers he can hardly begin to understand, and an enemy bent on destroying everything he holds dear. The more he reads and discovers, the deeper the danger to himself and the people he loves. As the race to the final showdown unfolds, Thomas must turn to trusted friends and uncertain allies as he seeks to prevent destruction at an epic scale.

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This is a wonderful fantasy tale well-told by the author. The character development is good, the friendships Thomas has are heart-warming and the magic is unpredictable. After all, if you didn’t know you had any, how could you practice?

What he finds in the shop is a “real” magic book. The owner tells him to take it home and read it and then bring it back as soon as he’s done. Tell no one and keep it hidden. He does that but he finds the contents of the book confusing and he starts meeting up with people who are unfriendly to him. He soon learns they are after the book.

When he finishes the book, they tell him of his destiny and that he has mighty powers. He’s not sure about that but when they give him his first training assignment and lock him in a room, he has to perform to get out. He can’t quite figure it out but he’s getting hungry. Will he manage to do what he needs to? He does and he finds that the training moves faster once he’s won the first battle to open his mind.

With magical acts all through the story and the fight between good and evil, it’s an exciting tale that reads fast. It’s also the first book in the series so Thomas will be back.

Making the Moose Out of Life by Nicholas Oldland


Making the Moose Out of Life by Nicholas Oldland
(Life in the Wild)

Publisher: Kids Can Press
Genre: Childrens, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

From the creator of Big Bear Hug comes the comic-adventure story of a mild-mannered moose who learns how to take life by the antlers. This moose may live in the wild, but he doesn’t act it — he watches from the sidelines as his friends have fun. Every now and then, he wonders if he’s missing out on anything.

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The moose’s unlikely hero-journey is a lighthearted, contemporary fable that celebrates living life to the fullest.

There is such a thing as being too cautious in life.

From what I’ve observed so far, one of Mr. Oldland’s biggest strengths has to do with how inclusively he writes about the struggles his characters face. In this particular case, the moose’s reluctance to try something new could be a hint that he was dealing with any number of mental illnesses that children in real life sometimes develop. The moose’s desire to stick to what he knows could also be understood as a phase that many kids go through or part of his naturally shy personality in general. I loved the fact that this was left up to the reader to decide. It’s something I’d feel equally comfortable reading to a child who had been diagnosed with a specific illness as I would with someone who was simply more reserved than most kids and needed a little encouragement to try new things.

The only thing I would have liked to see done differently in this story had to do with the total lack of a name or nickname for the main character. It’s something I’ve mentioned in reviews of other books in this series. While it’s a minor complaint, it sure would be nice to know what to call all of the interesting characters I’ve met in this universe. The moose had such a well-developed personality in particular that it felt odd to me to not have this piece of information about him. If not for this, I would have chosen a full, five-star rating.

Not every emotion is a cheerful one. The best scenes were the ones that showed how the moose reacted when his first attempts to try new things didn’t turn out the way he was hoping they would. He didn’t know how to react when that happened, and I appreciated the fact that the narrator acknowledged that. There’s something soothing about watching a character experience a setback but refusing to give up.

Making the Moose Out of Life was a gentle and kindhearted adventure that I’d recommend to anyone who wonders if they should take more risks.

The Mermaid and the Shoe by K.G. Campbell


The Mermaid and the Shoe by K.G. Campbell
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Each of King Neptune’s 50 mermaid daughters boasts a special talent, except for little Minnow, who seems to be good only at asking questions. When she finds a strange object, Minnow follows her questions to a wondrous place and finds answers, including the answer to the most important question of all: Who am I? A gorgeously illustrated story about finding one’s purpose.

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Minnow was such a likeable character. She lived in a society that had strict rules about what mermaids should and should not be capable of doing. Unfortunately, she wasn’t naturally good at any of the things that were valued by other mermaids, and her talents involved stuff that her people rarely, if ever, thought about. The most interesting thing about this to me was how she reacted to it. She was dismayed by not fitting in anywhere, of course, but she was also determined to figure out where she did belong. That part of her personality was so endearing that I couldn’t wait to see if she’d be successful.

There was a major conflict in this story that was never resolved. It had to do with Minnow’s strained relationship with one of her sisters, and it played such an important role in the early scenes that I was pretty surprised when it wasn’t picked back up again after she returned from her adventure. Leaving it out made the ending feel unfinished to me.

The best part of the plot for me happened after Minnow decided to go on an adventure to see if she could figure out the purpose of the strange object she’d found floating around in the sea. She was such a brave girl that I looked forward to seeing what she’d discover about it and if she’d get answers to her questions about how it worked.

If you enjoy modern fairy tales, I’d recommend giving The Mermaid and the Shoe a try.

Reverse Documentary by Marisela Navarro


Reverse Documentary by Marisela Navarro
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (31 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Dino is a documentary filmmaker, haunted by the ghost of his ex-girlfriend who was killed in a car crash while with another man. As Dino shoots his latest documentary on the vandalism occurring in the woods of his hometown, he tries to move on from her unexpected death. But when his life starts to look up, the ghost encroaches on his property. The focus of the film begins to blur as the lens of the camera shifts onto Dino, the director succumbing to his ghostly obsession.

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The documentary style of storytelling was what first caught my attention when I read the blurb for this piece. It wasn’t something I’ve personally seen being used in this genre before, and I was curious to find out how Ms. Navarro was going to use that format in something that was intended to be read silently instead of watched on a screen. She found so many inventive ways to mix the two different styles together in ways that made sense and pushed the plot forward exactly when it needed a nudge. I was impressed with all of the tricks she came up with to appeal to book and film lovers alike.

I would have preferred to see more attention paid to the ghost’s motives for haunting Dino. Jennifer was simultaneously the most important and the least discussed character in this tale. Nearly everything I learned about her came from her ex-boyfriend’s ruminations about her death. Dino had such a narrow perspective that this didn’t give me all of the information I needed in order to figure out why Jennifer was behaving the way that she was.

While it wasn’t what I was expecting to find, the ending fit the unconventional tone of this story nicely. I appreciated the fact that the author was so creative when coming up with a satisfying resolution for the conflicts the characters were dealing with. She did a good job explaining why things ended the way that they did and hinting at what was to come for the main characters.

Reverse Documentary should be read by anyone who has ever lost someone they deeply cared about.