Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 150 - The Phoenix Warrior by Ella Drake, Provenance by Ann Leckie, A Death in St. Petersburg by Tasha Alexander

The Phoenix Warrior by Ella Drake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had trouble getting into this one. I found the action to be slow and the result difficult to understand. I did like the characters but did not feel the tension between the the two main ones made that much sense. I also found the book to be overly long. I felt it would have been better if it was edited down to a shorter length. I will wait to see if book two does a better job of catching me.


Provenance by Ann Leckie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a interesting story. Like my headline after I finished listening I came to the conclusion that this was story about sibling rivalry and coming of age mixed with politics. All of this is wrapped up in a complex plot while following the sibling who never expected to inherit because of her adoption background. Included were the different worlds, aliens, and the politics involved when you mixed all of this up. There is great world building and back story told from the main characters point of view. Adjoa Andoh does great job with giving voice to all the characters that are represented in this very complex plot.

Death in St. Petersburg by Tasha Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This time Lady Emily has managed to join her husband Colin while he is on assignment. This leads to a book that tells a tail of mystery as well as highlighting the city of St. Petersburg. Set at the turn of the century there is unrest but the Tsar is still in power and the rich and mighty fill the halls of the city. What starts as a magical night at the ballet turns into a tale of murder when the principal ballerina is found dead outside of the theater. Lady Emily is asked to find the killer and she accepts. I was fun to see the city through her eyes and to watch her eliminate one suspect after another. There is a hint of the coming unrest before she realizes who the killer is. At the same time Colin is looking into the situation for England and the Queen. A very nice addition to the series.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

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