Category Archives: Romance

Ellison, C.J.: The Hunt (2011)

2013-01-22 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

I love this cover. Something about the colors maybe.

The V.V. Inn series comes with a warning. “This is not a young adult series and is intended for readers over 18.”

I’ve wondered why there is always a warning when sexual content is explicit but hardly ever when the violence is?????? Makes no sense to me. That being said – there is sexual content, and it is explicit.

The Hunt is a mystery with lots of sex thrown in. Well written sex scenes. This 50-year old woman was turned on by it and that is saying a lot.

Another thing that C.J. manages to do quite well is to jump from one character to the other. Not perfectly, but better than quite a few other authors I’ve read. Each character contributes to solving the question of why Vivian’s old enemy is the representative of the vampire Tribune and what the hunt is really about. Everything is not as it seems.

The Hunt is Ellison’s second book. She certainly has a gift for writing, one that will give great pleasure to many readers.

Adventure, Fantasy, Reading together, Romance, Young Adult

Britain, Kristen: Green Rider (1998)

2013-01-17 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

I just finished reading Green Rider to my youngest son. When you have a dyslexic audience, reading to them is always IN. I cannot imagine how frustrating it must be to love literature, yet be so hindered by something that I take so much for granted. Maybe it is somewhat like my need for a wheel-chair.

Anyways. Back to Green Rider.

Check out this cover illustration for the UK edition of Green Rider by April Schumacher. WOW! It catches the spirit of the novel perfectly.

As I read this book out loud, there are a couple of things I want to point out. Kristen writes beautifully. Names like Karigan G’ladheon just roll off my tongue. Reading was a delight. Tension, fear, beauty and humour came through the translation from page to mouth. Wonderful! What a gift.

Karigan G’ladheon is a typical hero character. She is conflicted about the many challenges that come her way, but she desperately wants to do what is right for her country. Danger is drawn to her, or perhaps Karigan is drawn to danger. Action is practically thrown her way. Thank goodness Karigan seems to have a gift of getting out of all of the life-threatening situations. Like Captain Mapstone claimed. Karigan seems to survive due to sheer spunk. Gritting her teeth, Karigan gets on with whatever comes her way. Gray riders, militia, dangerous creatures or spirits is just part of what Green Rider has to offer.

The plot is easy to understand. Someone is out to take over the country of Sacoridia (they think). Someone else has another agenda. Karigan supports the throne and stability. Battle ensues between the “good” and the “bad”. Presentation is everything and Kristen Britain Excels at this. Good job. In fact, excellent work! Enjoy.

My reviews of books 1 (Green Rider), 2 (First Rider’s Call), 3 (The High King’s Tomb) and 4 (Blackveil)

Fanart:

deviantART

Fantasy, Romance, Thriller

Alexander, Cassie: Nightshifted (Edie Spence) (2012)

2013-01-17 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Cassie Alexander’s debut into the world of urban fantasy comes in the form of her Edie Spence trilogy. Her real-life job as a registered nurse serves as inspiration for her novels about registered nurse Edie Spence. I am pretty certain these books are targeted at an adult readership

Choosing Edie Spence as her protagonist is probably the best move Ms. Alexander could have done. Edie isn’t afraid of a little/or a lot of blood and gore and finds that her nursing skills come in handy in her new night job. She had previously worked as a regular nurse working with regular people. To protect her drug-addict brother, Edie made the choice to sign up for hush-hush work at a hush-hush facility at County General. Remember that the next time you go to your own County General. Somewhere below-ground there just might be a secret facility catering to the health needs of the super-natural/para-normal community.

Being on the nursing staff taking care of the rather unusual clientele of zombies, vampires, shape-shifters, weres, etc. can be a bit dangerous to your health. Ms. Spence discovers this when she is present at the death of Mr. November. Because of her nature, Edie ends up looking after a vampire, being chased by a vampire and falling for a zombie. One might just say that her life became a little more challenging after her introduction to the “Other” side of reality.

Nightshifted is a fun and dark novel. Edie is a wonderful character and someone I would have liked to have met. Sometimes authors manage to make their characters seem so real and believable, the way Cassie has managed with Edie. Good job.

Adventure, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Lee, Sharon and Miller, Steve: Dragon Ship (2012)

2013-01-01 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller continue their Liaden Universe saga in the form of Dragon Ship.

Dragon Ship continues the story of the Korval Clan’s newest member, Theo Waitley, who we met in Ghost Ship.

Understandably, Theo is still wary about joining with the vessel, Bechimo. Being the first human for centuries who will go through the experience, she has noone to guide her. Bechimo is desperate for a Captain. He has been alone through centuries of trying to hide himself from people who want him themselves or want to destroy him.

On their journey (joined by Clarence 2nd pilot) Theo and Bechimo get to explore their understanding of each other. At the same time they also try to figure out if there is a market for a long run for the Korval Clan. Adventure lies along the route.

As with Ghost Ship, Dragon Ship is an adventure novel taking Theo and her crew from one exciting moment to the next. Lee and Miller’s writing is catchy and aimed at a Young Adult audience.

Adventure, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Lee, Sharon and Miller, Stephen: Ghost Ship (2011)

2012-12-24 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Ghost Ship is a fun space opera adventure that gives its reader plenty of action that just happens to be placed in a science fiction environment. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are good at this sort of world building. They have actually been quite good at portraying the Liaden Universe in the few novels I have read.

Ghost Ship is a space vessel with unusual abilities. This vessel is a ghost ship because it keeps hiding from humans in general in its quest to get its pilot onboard. The pilot it has chosen for such a fate is Theo Waitley. Having control of a vessel like Bechimo (its real name) is deemed essential by several parties and some of them shun nothing in their attempt to find and take it over.

While Ghost Ship is essentially an adventure novel, it also deals with FAMILY. As we all know, families can be a boon or a drag. Where do we belong and who do we belong to can be questions we all struggle with at times? I like the way Lee and Miller deal with this issue.

I found reading Ghost Ship a light and fun adventure. It fulfills its promise to me as a reader.

Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Butcher, Jim: First Lord’s Fury (The Codex Alera VI) (2009)

2012-12-21 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

Map by Priscilla Spencer

The last book of The Codex Alera is another brick. First Lord’s Fury is almost 700 pages long.

I think the reason I like Tavi’s character is because he is a bit crazy. Just crazy enough to see possibilities where the rest of us aren’t able to. Me, I lack that piece of genius that I sometimes meet in other people. Not often, but enough times to know how precious that ability is.

Tavi sees allies in traditional enemies, possibilities in impossibilities and hope where the rest of us give up. (Yes, I do realize he is a fictional character!) Sometimes people like this can be terribly annoying because giving up can be soooo tempting. He does annoy his friends at times. But this trait is also what has brought enemies to help and now another enemy needs to be brought into the battle against the Vord.

In Princep’s Fury Tavi discovered once and for all that the Vord were impossible to talk with/to. Their only aim in life is to convert Alera into Vord (land and creatures). However, the first Vord queen is a bit off for a Vord. She has limited the number of queens and made them sterile to boot. This gives Tavi some hope that Alera might prevail against them in the end.

Invidia Aquitaine is still fighting on the Vord queen’s side while her husband is the leader of the people left behind in Alera. The First Lord is dead and Tavi needs to hurry back to resolve the succession question at the same time as he utilizes any and all means to prevent the further spread of the Vord. But to do that he needs to take down the queen and that is quite a task. Thankfully, his old allies and family are still alive and fighting for the survival of Alera.

My reviews of books 1 (Furies of Calderoon), 2 (Academ’s Fury), 3 (Cursor’s Fury), 4 (Captain’s Fury), and 5 (Princep’s Fury)

Fantasy, Romance, Thriller

Bonilla, Amanda: Shaedes of Gray (2011)

2012-12-13 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Shaedes of Gray seems to be Amanda Bonilla’s first novel and is a pretty good debut. There are places where the text doesn’t work completely, but Bonilla manages to hit the flow quite often.

Another plus point for the cover. Choosing Cliff Nielsen as her artist was well done. He has illustrated quite a few authors I really like and, of course, some I’ve never heard of. The way he manages to catch the mood of Shaedes of Gray is awesome.

This Seattle is a Seattle that apparently only has one supernatural living there. Darian was told this by her “maker” and has believed it for the past 100 years or so. By my “apparently” I am certain you know that supernaturals are going to be popping out of the wood-work as the novel progresses.

Let’s see. What makes Shaedes of Gray different from the rest of urban fantasy. Hmmm. For one thing, Darian is a Shaede. This means that she can travel through the shadows, yet she appears as human when she is in her corporeal form. She doesn’t know how she was made into a Shaede. Shaedes don’t really appear to be bad/good. Instead they are a kind of distilled in-between gray creature.

Not so unusual, is Darian being an assassin. She makes her living taking on hits to people of dubious morals. When she is asked to kill the resident of a certain address, Darian discovers that she was lied to by her maker. There are indeed other supernaturals living in Seattle. When she discovers just how duped she has been and who one of the dupers is, Darian feels stupid.

So. A good beginning. If what I’ve seen in this novel continues, Amanda certainly has the makings of one of the better authors out there.

Fantasy, Romance, Thriller

Carlson, Amanda: Full Blooded (2012)

2012-12-13 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Hmmm. Full Blooded falls within the paranormal romance category (I think). As such, I’m not the best person to say something about it. Having read it, I am going to anyways.

I don’t know why this category is having such a difficult time getting into my heart. With Full Blooded it had a lot to do with the fact that the text kind of hiccupped. When I get the feeling of “hang on-need some more editing here”, I feel like someone is hurting the text. I know I’ll never write a book. For one thing, my writing is simply not interesting enough for that. So I really admire the people out there who actually do write.

As a reader, though, I am top-notch. Full Blooded was average. It picked up after the first half. Some of the weeds got pulled out more and Carlson was a whole lot closer to getting her text to flow. The story itself wasn’t especially original either.

But remember my motto – just because I might not like a novel doesn’t mean it isn’t good. It just means that it needs another reader.

Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Butcher, Jim: Princep’s Fury (The Codex Alera V) (2008)

2012-12-09 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Princep’s Fury is the fifth and penultimate book in The Codex Alera series. What can I say about this series now that it is almost over? One thing that is obvious is that Jim Butcher‘s writing is getting better and better. Hard work does pay. I’m hopeful that Jim benefits from this. As a reader, I certainly do. Having read books of all kinds for around 40 years, I have certainly learned to spot and appreciate which authors are serious about their craft.

Tavi has set off with his regiment to assist the Canim with the Vord in their homeland. With his usual tolerance of the Ocean, Tavi vomits his way quite a ways accross the Ocean. Thankfully he has good helpers who assist him whether he wants them to or not. Once they get to the land of the Canim, both Varg and Tavi discover that the situation is a bit more dire than Varg had thought and hoped.

Back in Alera the Alerans are finally realizing that the Vord are real and they are coming to get them. Unfortunately, that usually means that the Vord are about to take over your whole country and population. As we might have guessed by the previous books, the Vord Queen that started the ball rolling this time around is not quite as Vordish as she should have been. This might just be the factor that ends up being a saving factor for the Alerans, Malat and Canim.

Not all Alerans are able to help the First Lord as they are fighting for their lives to save their own people. Which is why Isana is sent north by the First Lord in an attempt to make historic peace between Alerans and Ice-men. Her work might very well be the feather that will tip the scales in the Aleran’s favor.

There is as much action in no. 5 as there has been in the previous four books. Political in-fighting is not quite as extreme as necessity binds people together to an extent.

My reviews of books 1 (Furies of Calderoon), 2 (Academ’s Fury), 3 (Cursor’s Fury), 4 (Captain’s Fury), and 6 (First Lord’s Fury)

Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Butcher, Jim: Captain’s Fury (The Codex Alera IV) (2007)

2012-12-01 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Jim Butcher‘s series, The Codex Alera, is well worth a read. Captain’s Fury is book number four in the series. In it we meet a Tavi two years older from who he was in Cursor’s Fury.

The hard work that Butcher puts into his books shows. He himself says that being and author is about work, work, work and not giving up even if you are rejected. I guess I must have been wrong about the Muses just dropping into people’s heads and taking over their hands.

I love it when I can tell that an author has worked for my pleasure. How selfish is that? However selfish, it is true. There is just something incredibly wonderful about an author that takes hold of me and brings me into their text.

That is the kind of author Jim Butcher has become.

Tavi is yet a couple of years older. As a character, Tavi is a warm-hearted person. Somehow he feels that friendship is possible with everyone and works toward that end. Unfortunately, not everybody agrees With that point of view. Senator Arnos is one such person. His goal in life is to destroy Tavy but also to destroy the Canim with what he considers Aleran superiority. Boy is he in for a surprise.

Sadly, Tavi will be impacted (in the shape of Captain Rufus Scipio) by Arnos’ scheming and Tavi’s captaincy hangs in a thread. When Tavi discovers who he really is, his life is not made any simpler.

The First Lord is quite a schemer himself. He knows that he is more or less alone in his battles and seeks a quick resolution to the problem of Kalare. That means that Gaius will have to og undercover and absent himself from the political infighting in Alera. To assist him in his quest, the First Lord brings along his faithful Amara and her Bernard.

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My reviews of books 1 (Furies of Calderoon), 2 (Academ’s Fury), 3 (Cursor’s Fury), 5 (Princep’s Fury) and 6 (First Lord’s Fury)

Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Butcher, Jim: Cursor’s Fury (The Codex Alera III) (2007)

2012-11-25 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Great cover-art, huh. The artist is Steve Stone.

I Guess it is about time that you saw who on Earth writes this Codex Alera series. Jim Butcher is obviously showing his more serious side in this photograph of he and his dog.

I’ll admit that this is not a recent Picture, but it is a fun one.

So, Codex Alera and Cursor’s Fury.

Tavi is getting older, and hopefully wiser in his understanding of his abilities. In The Furies of Calderon we got to know the 15-year old boy whose greatest wish was to study at the Academy in the city of Alera. Through his deeds he reaped the reward of just that. A couple of years later, we meet Tavi again. This time he is a student at the Academy and wondering if perhaps he should have wished for something else. But his presence proves vital in securing the safety of the First Lord – as it should when Tavi is the main character of the series. Academ’s Fury shows us a boy who has grown in maturity and understanding of his abilities.

In Cursor’s Fury Tavi has aged once again. His and Kitai’s relationship has deepened and both are committed to each other. Not everyone is pleased with the relationship between human and Marat. Another relationship that not all who know Tavi are pleased with, is his relationship with the Canim leader Varg. But Tavi’s thought is that friendship is a whole lot better than the shedding of blood.

The First Lord sends Tavi off to learn from one of the Academy’s more controversial teachers. The ways of the old Romans need to be explored (yes, indeed, the old Romans). Somehow it seems they managed without using Furies and it seems the First Lord deems it necessary to discover how they got by. Tavi doesn’t want to leave Kitai and his friends, but as a Cursor and subject of the First Lord he does not really want to say no either.

So, off he goes. And somehow – read and find out – he ends up being an under-cover legionare in the First Lord’s army fighting for his life and the safety of Alera.

There is plenty of action. Plenty of it, interspersed with humour and romance and intrigue. Spies and deception are part of the story and one of the greater deceptions will affect Amara and Bernhard as they tottle off to save hostages from Lord Kalare. I guess tottling might not be the appropriate term here – read and discover why.

Another brick of a book – 614 pgs brick – but a fun brick. If you are into action, this is the book to read.

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Monk, Devon: Allie Beckstrom – Magic for a Price (2012)

2012-11-25 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Devon Monk does it again. She has created another read-through book about the world of Allie Beckstrom. That woman simply has the gift. I do not often get to read two novels in a row where the author so clearly has the ability to bring me into the story. Lucky is what I am.

In this final novel of the Allie Beckstrom series Monk gives us a conclusion that makes sense and draws any loose threads together that might be out there. Perhaps it is Beckstrom’s willingness to pay the price for her actions that makes her so appealing. Or it could be her side-kicks Zay and Shame (and in later books Terric). These there are a wonderful complement to Allie’s character.

Leander and Isabelle are coming to Portland to close the whole magical community down. Along, she is bringing Authority from several other cities. To put it mildly, Portland is in need to a plan that might give them a chance against the Overseer. That is Allie’s job, figuring something out that will keep as many as possible alive and well.

This is where Monk shows her gift. She brings out the desperation and hope in novel in a manner that brings me as a reader into the stream of her words. I go willingly and joyfully into this tale of adventure wondering where the author is going to take me. As usual, I cheat by reading the last few pages early on. I know, annoying habit. For me, this is something that whets my appetite.

I hope you enjoy this final installment in the Allie Beckstrom adventure as much as I have.

Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Butcher, Jim: Academ’s Fury (The Codex Alera II) (2006)

2012-11-13 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Academ’s Fury follows Calderon’s Fury as book number two in the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. You know the saying, “you should be careful what you wish for”. Well, Tavi has gotten his wish, and it is proving a bit more of a handful than he would have liked. For one thing, going to an Academy where he is the only one without a fury among obnoxious kids is less than fun. But the upside is that Tavi does meet kids his own age that he likes and he also learns quite a bit.

In addition to his studies, Tavi is also the First Lord’s page and is studying to be a cursor spy. Both are taxing his strength but he is growing in knowledge and hopefully wisdom.

Kitai and her father discover the disappearance of the Vord from the Wax Forest. Dorago looks for the long-time enemies of the Marat and he is worried what their disappearance means. While he is looking he sends Kitai to “watch” (all is revealed in the book). The Vord will include Bernhard, Amare and Isana in our tale.

And then we have the Canim. There is an ambassadorial retinue living at the First Lord’s palace. The ambassador’s name is Varg. Jim likes to make the story lines of the Codex Alera pretty complex. Part of that is probably to keep the reader on their toes, but it is difficult to tell his story without bringing in the various people involved. So too, the Canim.

The ambassador seeks the First Lord’s help, but due to circumstances around the First Lord that is going to prove extremely difficult. In fact, getting help from the First Lord for anyone at all is going to be a challenge in Academ’s Fury. But fear not, Tavi is here. OK! It might not be quite that simple, but Tavi is, after all, the hero of this series and that means that he has to do impossibly heroic deeds.

The problem with so much art on the net is that it is difficult finding just who to credit with it. If you press on the picture above it will take you to one site, and I hope that is the correct one. If not, someone will have to tell me.

While reading these books, I have been trying to place their age group. Sex wise they are pretty safe. I would probably give the books a PG rating for that (only because of how strict the US public is). When it comes to violence I’m having a bit more trouble. How graphic is graphic and where do I draw the line? Well, I don’t really know. There is violence and it is descriptive, but it isn’t what carries the story (at least not in Academ’s Fury). I guess I would say that the reader should not be too young, but it is OK for a teen-ager. But I am ancient, so what do I know?

Anyways, after that struggle, I want to say that Academ’s Fury is fun and fast to read (for a given definition of fast). The book is around 600 pages long and you don’t read that in one go. Butcher’s language flows along its river of words without drowning me in anything unwanted.

My reviews of books 1 (Furies of Calderoon), 3 (Cursor’s Fury), 4 (Captain’s Fury), 5 (Princep’s Fury) and 6 (First Lord’s Fury)

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

McLeod, Suzanne: The Sweet Scent of Blood (2008)

2012-10-02 humanitysdarkerside 3 Comments

The Sweet Scent of Blood - Suzanne McLeod

Sometimes I wonder if power is THE most basic of our needs. The power to control our own lives, the power to control our environment and the power to control others.

Take the power to control our own lives. Genvieve Taylor never had power over her life. Her creation was a genetic experiment between two incompatible races. Once that succeeded she was promised to someone extremely powerful and extremely deranged. And finally, at the age of 14 she was injected with a poison (V3) that made her vulnerable to vampires.

Our main character never seriously thinks about giving up the fight for the right to decide what to do with herself and her own life. The Sweet Scent of Blood is for the most part about that battle. And battle it is.

At the beginning of The Sweet Scent of Blood Genny imagines she has achieved a modicum of control over her life, in fact about as much power as most of us can expect to have. She has a job, protection against the vampires, a place to live and friends. Yet power over our own lives is often an illusion. Illusions are easily snatched away by someone more powerful or someone willing to engage the help of the powerful.

Being one of the sidhe fae, a bean sidhe, would normally make Genvieve one of the more powerful people of the world of Suzanne McLeod. But her mixed heritage is unhelpful and Genny’s inability to accept who and what she is acts as a barrier in reaching her potential. In McLeod’s London she also happens to be the only sidhe fae. Sadly, this only makes her more attractive to both those who wish to use her and those who wish to destroy her.

In my mind the only person in The Sweet Scent of Blood who is wholly on Genvieve’s side is Hugh Monroe. Hugh has an intense need to protect those who are in need of help. Genny came into his life when she was infected with V3 and has remained there ever since. His protectiveness made it natural for him to wish to enter the police force. He works as a DI at The New Scotland Yard and happens to be one of the straight cops at that facility. We soon discover that not all who work for the police do so for the same need to protect and serve the public.

The Sweet Scent of Blood starts out as a mystery and ends up as a battle amongst the mighty of Genny’s London. Genvieve seeks the answer to who killed Melissa. Was is Roberto, her boyfriend, or was it another character? Through the story we see that sometimes Genny is aided in her search for answers but for the most part barriers are thrown up, one after the other.

The Sweet Scent of Blood - Suzanne McLeod

In their scrabble to stay on top, the powers that be have decided that the faery are to remain without civil rights. Civil rights is something a great many of us take for granted. I find it comforting to imagine that if something terrible happened to me then I would be safe because Justice would have its day. Sure, it’s just an illusion but one that is legislated for the likes of me. One hundred years ago women did not have the right to vote nor did they have many of the other rights that men did. Disabled could still be sterilized in Norway a long time after that. Many people have sacrificed a great deal to make it possible for me to have the power over my life that I do.

Faery do not. Vampires do, but faery do not. Witches have civil rights, but faery do not. Regular humans have civil rights, but faery do not. Do I have to look far to find people without written legislation to protect them even today? Sadly, no. In The Sweet Scent of Blood the reason for this lack of power lies for the main part in looks. Some of the faery can be frightening looking and some of them are extremely dangerous. Their ethics are unfamiliar to humans. All of these factors have been utilized by the masters of power games in making the faery less powerful.

The Sweet Scent of Blood is one of my re-readables. I know it is supposed to be Suzanne McLeod’s first published novel, but it holds none of the earmarks of a first novel. Indeed she manages to stay on-key throughout the whole story. Definitely recommended.

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Reviews:

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Amazon.co.uk / The Book Depository / Waterstones.com / Play.com / Borders.co.uk / Forbidden Planet

EBook: Waterstones.com / Kindle Edition

Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

Bishop, Anne: Ephemera

2012-09-29 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Musical writers. What a treat they are. Anne Bishop is one such writer, one who knows how to make all of her chords fit together into a song that satisfies the reader. She manages to portray the darkness in people without stepping into the land of horror. I love dark fantasy when it is performed like this.

Like all of Anne Bishop’s stories, Ephemera is character driven. Generally two or three of them are three-dimensional, while the rest end up complementing the main characters. Ephemera comes from an idea of our outer world reflecting our inner one. What if that were literal? Playing with that idea brought about the Ephemera world (Reading Cafe interview). As we discover in reading these books, the world of Ephemera is ephemeral (transitory). One can never know where one ends up, seeing as one’s heart shows the way.

SEBASTIAN (2007)

German cover

“Long ago, in a time that has faded from memory, a mother’s tears forged the bridge that, ever after, connected the power of the living, ever-changing world to the human heart. – Myth”

Sebastian is a love story, but more than that it is a story about the choices we make. Do we dare to follow our dreams, or will we make “safe” choices? In the end it might not really matter, because the choices we make could very well all be the ones we really want.

Sebastian is an incubus, an incubus who has begun longing for something more than the life he is living right now in the Den of Iniquity. The Den of Iniquity is a place of ever-lasting carnival, a place where people come to fulfill those dark desires they have.

You can relax if you are worried that we are being cast into a place where the sex and violence is explicit. While the Den of Iniquity might well be a place where that is the case, Anne Bishop has been kind enough to keep us as readers away from the details.

Anyways, back to Sebastian. The Den of Iniquity has been his home since he was about 15. His past was not a good one with a succubus mother and wizard father. Sebastian’s mother left early on and his father left Sebastian’s care to others, people who were afraid of incubi. But Sebastian has turned out pretty well, thanks to Nadia, Belladonna and Lee (adoptive family). They have shown him that there is sunshine in a person. Now he wants someone to love.

BELLADONNA (2008)

Australian cover

“Heart’s hope lies with Belladonna.”

The Eater of the World is once more loose in Ephemera, free to wreak havoc where it sees fit. Dreams are invaded, monsters set free and lives are becoming darker due to its influence.

The only hope lies with Belladonna. Glorianna Belladonna is of the old blood, the blood of the Guides and Guardians. Her heritage is one of light and darkness. Only through the combination of the two is there a possibility of winning.

Unfortunately, Belladonna and Lee do not have all of the answers to her search for a solution to the Eater. She sends out a Heart’s Wish to Ephemera with the hope that someone will come with what she needs to save Ephemera.

In a sense that says it all. What price are we willing to pay to save the ones we love? I have no idea myself. In the world of fantasy people are willing to go to extremes to save the world and not just those close to themselves. Sometimes the price could end up being horrendous.

BRIDGE OF DREAMS (2012)

Australian cover

Anne Bishop pulls it off again. This time we get to hear more about Lee.

Ever since Glorianna Belladonna became Belladonna in every sense of the word, Lee has been frustrated, hurt and angry. Part of his anger is at Glorianna for placing herself in this position and for not going back to how she was previously. Another part of his anger is toward Michael, the Magician, for giving Belladonna the chance to make her choice, and for stopping him when Lee wanted to jump in and save her. Quite a bit of his hurt is toward the relationship that has developed between Michael, Glorianna and Sebastian. Why was Sebastian the one to call Belladonna back and not Lee? It seems unfair. Lee feels unwanted, and unable to come to terms with the way things have turned out.

When he stumbles upon wizards trying to invade one of Belladonna’s landscapes, Lee uses a one-shot bridge taking the wizards with him. He ends up in a city called Vision having to endure torture and the insidious whispering of the wizards.

Danyal, the Shaman, is sent to Vision to figure out what needs to be done to save the city from those places that no Shaman is able to see any longer. Shamen are like the Landscapers in that they take care of their landscapes. But unlike Landscapers they do not seem to have access to Bridges. Upon meeting up with other ways of doing things, Danyal is about to have his beliefs about the world challenged.

So, what can I say about Bridge of Dreams? I liked it. I like Anne Bishop’s version of the darkness that lives in all of us. Our shadows balance out the light in us. When we accept both sides of ourselves our potential becomes greater. All three books in the Ephemera series (trilogy?) follow the pattern of Anne Bishop’s other novels. I guess most authors have a unique style of writing (much like musicians), and sometimes that style works. In Bishop’s case I find myself embracing and enjoying her characters. Getting people to care about the characters in a novel seems to be what being an author should be about.

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