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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Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 133 - You Say It First by Susan Mallery, Calling the Change by Michelle Diener, Breaking the Admiral by Ella Drake

You Say It First by Susan Mallery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great start, a wonderful ending and a lot of fun in-between - that is You Say It First, the first book in the Happily Inc. series by Susan Mallery. There are characters from her Fool's Gold series and on is the main male characters in this book. There is a lot of backstory in the first part of the book. It slowed the plot down but everything speeded up after that. I loved the setting, the town and the side characters. Sculptor Nick Mitchell and Pallas Saunders are great characters. Their interaction is spot. Both saying they do not want forever but we know best. Happily, Inc is a nice quirky town with a lot of room for new stories and new characters.

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


Calling The Change by Michelle Diener
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I felt like most of Calling the Change was filler for the next book in the series but it still was entertaining. Garek has rescued Taya only to lose her again. This time to someone on their own planet. They still have one sky machine and enemies want both it and Taya. Most of the story follows Garek as he tries to catch up with the people who took Taya. The Sky Raiders are still around and Garek realizes that no one will be safe until they are defeated. That does not happen in this book but the ground is set for Garek and friends to try in book three. Once again I loved how Diener has placed story in an unusual situation. This is a low tech people against aliens who should have the advantage. I really like the contrast. It ramps up the tension and helps keep the story moving at a brisk pace.


Breaking the Admiral by Ella Drake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Admiral Lucinda Ryan wants a man in her bed and she makes a deal that brings her one. Tay Bronson is the man or should I say the alien Scoriah who agrees to the marriage to keep his family safe. He does not want to give Lucinda what she wants in bed but he bends some when he finds he has an instant daughter. Family is everything to the Scoriah and a daughter is a bonus he did not expect. Turns out there is danger to that daughter and that brings Lucinda and Tay closer together. A interesting plot with some very strong characters. This is a side story in the Space Grit Universe. It can stand alone but is better if you have read the books in the series. I started out not liking Lucinda but she did grow on me as she did on Tay.

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Deep Into Darkness: Aliens, Alphas and Antiheroes by Elise Logan, Ella Drake, Kim Knox, Maguerite Labbe, Annie Nicholas

Science Fiction Romance

From Goodreads:

PANDORA by Marguerite Labbe

Sentenced to life on board a space salvage cruiser, Riff Korra and Zed Jakobsen find themselves drawn together out of mutual need. But when an epidemic of violence and insanity consumes their ship, will their bond give them the strength they need to escape?

BOARDED by Annie Nicholas

Liaison Sadie Beckit must accompany the mysterious Ambassador Nual to Central Station. Sounds easy enough, but the lawless void of space holds many dangers. To make things worse, Nual seems determined to make Sadie lose her professional control.

FORSAKEN PLANET by Elise Logan

Luci has gone, literally, to the ends of colonized space in order find some peace. Marooned on a desolate planet with limited supplies, Luci needs to learn to trust her team leader, Sakir Khyne. Together they must take out hostile forces and try to survive.

DARK IMMORTALITY by Kim Knox

Captain Andros: pirate, vampire, all-round bastard. When he takes Madelen Ariel as his own, his crew sees an opportunity to mutiny. They’re about to find out just how much of a bastard he really is.

FREEKER by Ella Drake

On the run, convicted murderer Chara stows away on a ship piloted by a big, sexy alien. Warrant puts the safety of his brothers above all else but the violent and sensual Chara makes him question the price of risk. 

Three of the stories in this collection fit the anti-hero description.  The other two fit the Alphas and Aliens description.

Pandora is a M/M story full of violence.  It was the longest in the collection.  It was well written but longer than I though it needed to be.  As M/M is not my cup of tea it was not one I enjoyed that much.

Boarded by Annie Nicholas was my favorite.  There were no anti-heroes in this one; just very good Space Opera and Science Fiction Romance.  I liked both Sadie Beckit and Ambassador Nual.  I would not mind visiting their world again.

Forsaken Planet by Elise Logan was another story that did not have an anti-hero.  Her two main characters, Luci and Sakir, are both on the side of justice and order.  It was my second favorite in the collection.  I though the world building in this story was the best of the lot.

Dark Immortality by Kim Knox did not appeal to me at all.  It did fit the anti-hero theme.  Captain Andros is just what the blurb says – an all-round bastard.

Freeker by Ella Drake is part of the Space Grit series.  Again we have the anti-hero theme.  This time both Chara, the female and Warrant, the male, are both bloodthirsty and love killing.  Of course it has to be for a good reason.  Drake turns out well written stories.  In this case it is a well written story where I did not like either main character.

I am not much for anti-hero stories and reading Deep Into Darkness did not change my mind.  I liked Boarded and Forsaken Planet but neither had an anti-hero.  Pandora, Dark Immortality, and Freeker just were not my type of SFR even though they were written buy authors whose books I have enjoyed in the past.  Those books did not have anti-heroes.

Deep Into Darkness was published in 2015.

I received an ARC of Deep Into Darkness from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Stacking the Shelves - October 3, 2015

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

This was a slow week as I am still trying to read down my TBR pile.

First up is the latest issue of Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly.  The issues are free.  You can find the the latest books released during the quarter.  They are listed by months.  There are book reviews by various reviewers (I am one),  samples of upcoming releases, short stories and an editorial.  Click on the link and check it out.

For Review From Netgalley:

Deep into Darkness by Ella Drake, Kim Knox, Marguerite Labbe, Elise Logan, Annie Nicholas

Christmas at Evergreen Inn by Donna Alward

Black Ice Heart (Space Grit Book 1) by Ella Drake

Science Fiction Romance

From Goodreads:

Condemned and in transit to an asteroid prison, he found what he'd never had before--a chance to love.

***

Ensign Joan Holly has one last mission before transferring to a secretive, elite unit, the Nex. It's what she's wanted since joining the military as a child. All she has to do is escort the most reviled prisoner on Geonate to meet his fate. Simple, since he's immobilized and nobody has ever escaped the Asteroid Pit.

Cenak Bronson never had it easy. He's never been free and never had a future. He accepts his doomed fate until he's rescued by a band of half-aliens, the Scoriah. After the chaos of his breakout, Cenak finds himself reluctantly bound to the only other survivor, his jailer Joan.

But they aren't the sole survivors by coincidence and they weren't captured by the Scoriah randomly. To survive, they join forces, uncovering secrets and lies that change everything. Including the future of Geonate itself.

Black Ice Heart is a full-length science fiction romance novel that begins the Space Grit series and can be read stand-alone

Warning: This novel is intended for readers 18 and older. It contains explicit scenes, language, violence.

There are many things to like about Black Ice Heart.  The world building is very well done.  The back story is told when and where needed.  The plot is interesting and moves at a nice pace.  The characters are well developed and interesting.  Everything is in place for a very good Science Fiction Romance story.  I should have loved it.  Instead there was an element that I did not like and as a result I could not enjoy it as much as I should have.

That element was how the story started.  It started with the deaths of many of the occupants of the space station that serves as a prison.  It was not the deaths but who did the killing that bothered me.  I want consequences for actions and instead the killers ended up being portrayed as the good guys who were not responsible for their actions.. 

The Scoriah start as killers and end up looking like long lost puppies.  It just did not work for me.  Joan Holly should have been running away from them screaming.  Instead she was cuddling with them.  While the Scoriah got away with murder their creator get the punishment she deserved.   

Something similar turned me off of Frost Station Alpha and my review is very similar.

I like danger and tension.  I also like the bad guys who run around killing people to stay the bad guys.  When that does not happen it is a complete turn off for me.  I would like to see what others say about the story and if any had the same reaction as I did.

I have enjoyed other stories written by Ella Drake so it was surprise when I reacted to this on as I did.

Ella Drake published Black Ice Heart in 2015.

Desert Blade by Ella Drake.

Post-Apocalypic Romance

I received an ARC of Desert Blade by Ella Drake from NetGalley.  Desert Blade is novella and is a short  easy read.  Before I give you my opinion here is what Goodreads says about Desert Blade:

 "In the post-apocalyptic Midwest, now a ravaged dust bowl, former guardsman Derek Covington must find help for a sick boy. With nothing but memories of all he lost, Derek crosses the desert alone in search of the doctor who saved his own life ten years ago. Drifter gangs who loot and pillage don't dare come near, for Derek has a formidable weapon: a prosthetic arm with a deadly blade.

For a decade, Dr. Lidia Sullivan has fantasized about the handsome guardsman who'd been in her care. And now she can't deny his dangerous request. But as they make the treacherous journey back to Old St. Louis, they must contend with much more than fierce desert winds and their unthinkable attraction. A fearless gang has spotted Lidia—a rare woman—and will fight Derek to the death to get her. And though he risks his life to save her for the sake of the child who needs her, she fears there's one thing Derek will never risk: his heart."

Plot:  The plot is familiar.  The two main characters meet and separate in a America that has fallen apart.  Ten year later they must work together to bring help to people who have no medical support.  The journey brings back feelings that never were acknowledged in the first meeting.

Characters:  This is a short novella and as a result there is just a minimum amount of character building.  The two main characters are somewhat fleshed out.  Side characters are pretty one-dimensional.

World Building:  Ella Drake has created a unique situation that explains why the World has fallen apart. 

Tension:  Most of the tension comes from the outside in this story.  While there is some tension between Lidia and Derek it is resolved pretty quickly.

Writing:  The story is tightly structured and moves smoothing from scene to scene.  Ella Drake uses her writing skills to build a good story in an unusual world.

Desert Blade is worth the read.  It is a good story to pick up when you don’t have the time to finish a long novel. 

Carinia Press published Desert Blade by Ella Drake in 2012.