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Review - Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron - 3 stars

I really wanted to like Nice Dragons Finish Last more than I did.

There's an interesting and complex world. Rachel Aaron sets her scene on near-future earth. Magic has returned and woken up all the magical creatures who were just resting their eyes a bit. I loved the magic elements to this story. They were well explained without a ton of exposition.

The supporting characters were also fantastic. The dynamic interactions between the characters made them feel lifelike, and the intrigue added enough mystery to keep them interesting. Best of all, they were remarkably distinct from one another. I had no trouble recalling a character who appeared briefly at the beginning of the book, even when I was near the end.

The storyline has some great twists and turns, and the setting and supporting characters create a great mix of assumed backstory and ambience.

Unfortunately, the main character annoyed me.

Spoilers Below!

It's important to note, the main character Julian has a lot to recommend him. He's wicked smart. He has a gift with words. And - oh yeah - he just happens to be superhumanly swift and strong. He also sticks with Marci, the most interesting character in the story, so he has good taste.

Don't get me wrong, he wasn't written as an annoying person. That wouldn't be nearly as frustrating. Instead, he is maddeningly self-assured in his sugar-sweet, "if we all just held hands the world would be so perfect, but alas no one knows how to be really nice but me" mentality.

Unfortunately, this seems to be the message this author wants to send. Time after time, the story contorts to prove him right.

Sometimes characters go completely against what they're characterized to be in order to aid that desired result. Julian, a twenty-four year old and incredibly sheltered dragon, drops his "just be nice and it'll all work out" mentality in among a bunch of centuries and even millennia-old dragons, and somehow they don't die of laughter. They even agree with him after the end of the story, albeit after some dangerous hijinks ensue.

Other people aren't as easily convinced about his rightness. Somehow, that never poses much of a problem for a literal apex predator like Julian. I suppose it's easier to be nice to someone when you know you can do just about anything to them and get away with it.

He has plenty of allies to call to his side when he's overpowered. Sometimes they show up even when he doesn't want them, which prompts some great scenes.

All of this means that Julius spends the entire story not growing or changing an awful lot. He goes from knowing that the world would be better if people would just listen, to knowing the world will be better because people listened. Not a lot of character growth there. Not to mention, his inherent rightness seems odd. He's a young man who spent most of his life in his mom's house, unwilling to venture outside. Why is he so savvy?

Another issue I found annoying was his constant stonewalling of the secondary character, Marci. If she says or does something he doesn't like, Julian just stops speaking to her. After the third time this happens, I find myself wondering why such a cool chick still has any interest in him at all.

He explains those silent brooding moments, but only in his head. Not to Marci. Even then it seems odd.

Okay, spoilers over.

Despite my frustrations with the main character, this was still a good book, and worth the read. The author champions Julius' worldview heavily in this book, but the other characters make some strong cases for their own points of view. This makes me hopeful for the author's future work.

Many other elements are strong in this story, so I'm at least hooked until the next part in the series.

If you are a sucker for YA paranormal fantasy with romantic elements and a trickster hero, this is the book to try. Especially if you think a broody dragon dude is super hot.

Blurb:

As the smallest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: keep quiet, don’t cause trouble, and stay out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn't fly in a family of ambitious magical predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

Now, sealed in human form and banished to the DFZ--a vertical metropolis built on the ruins of Old Detroit--Julius has one month to prove he can be a ruthless dragon or kiss his true shape goodbye forever. But in a city of modern mages and vengeful spirits where dragons are considered monsters to be exterminated, he’s going to need some serious help to survive this test.

He only hopes humans are more trustworthy than dragons...

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Review: Snare by Racheline Maltese & Erin McRae - 5 stars


Vampires! Paperwork! Romance!

This one is easy to love. The worldbuilding is fantastic, the characters are complex, and the pacing is believable. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes low-key paranormal elements/magical realism, meet-cute romances where the protagonists have a lot to work out after the inital attraction, and POV characters who *don't* immediately try to change a world they don't understand.

I loved Eli's emotional journey, and his exploration of the warrens avoided the pitfalls of many paranormal romances. The warren isn't some underground cave where people dress in capes and drink strangely soupy red wine; it's a community where beings of both species live together and care about each other. Eli doesn't become the chosen one who has to save a weird, wild world from eeeevil; he's just a guy who is new at this stuff and makes mistakes because he's not quite sure what the rules are.

The POV was more distant than I usually like, but it seemed appropriate for the presentation and subject matter. After a few pages, I found the distant POV helped to draw my attention to details I would otherwise have missed.

This whole story is so cozy and wonderful, and I look forward to reading more by these authors.

Blurb:

When Elliot Iverson, a municipal employee responsible for paperwork pertaining to New York City's vampire population, knocks on the door of the Gramercy warren, he wants only to resolve a clerical error. But a sudden snowstorm, a new friendship, and an ill-advised threesome force Elliot to make some big choices about his own life and death.

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Review: Gays of Our Lives by Kris Ripper - 4.5 stars

I was captivated from the moment I opened Gays of Our Lives. It's written in first person, and the author Kris Ripper uses the perspective with a mastery few can boast. From the first line, we are given the flavor of Emerson's personality: a man who wants very badly to be in control, but can't.

His struggles with both MS and his feelings of hopelessness take center stage in the narrative until he meets Obie, a handsome hipster who almost pries his way into Emerson's life.

This leads to some awkwardness. Sometimes the awkward moments were far too cute to handle. Then again, the best love stories are.

 

Spoilers Below.

What struck me the most was how low-key the book was when the relationship got rocky. While there are plenty of tense moments and conflicts in the book, it was absent the normal yanks on your emotions authors use frequently to get you to pay attention.

This lack of an emotional yank back and forth worked well for me as a reader. It also seemed to channel Emerson's own discomfort with his feelings.

The pain Emerson felt over their breakup felt more immediate and somehow even more important because he kept living his life. Even during Emerson's darkest moments he got up, went to work, went home, repeat, almost on autopilot. It felt somehow gently heartbreaking.

I also loved the interactions between the characters. They called each other on their bullshit in a way which felt loving, but still weren't all-knowing.

Blurb.

Emerson Robinette only leaves his apartment to get laid and go to work. Having MS—and trying to pretend he doesn’t—makes everything more complicated, especially his fantasies of coming on strong and holding a guy down. Finding a partner who’ll explore that with him isn’t Emerson’s idea of a realistic goal.

Until a chance meeting with a hipster on a bus makes him reconsider. Obie is happy, open-hearted, and warm; what’s more, he gets his kicks being physically dominated, spanked, and teased until he’s begging. It would be perfect, except for one thing: Emerson isn’t made for happiness, and he doesn’t see how a guy like Obie would settle for a cynic like him.

But as far as Obie’s concerned, the only thing keeping them apart is Emerson. Can Emerson handle a boyfriend who’s more invested in his future than he is? Emerson’s barely convinced he has a future. But when Obie’s smiling at him, anything seems possible.

Did you like this review? Leave a comment, or see my other reviews.

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Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer - 5 stars

Marissa Meyer is no stranger to my bookshelf, and her elegantly crafted fractured fairy tales are a joy to behold. Heartless is no different, as it tackles Lewis Carrol's Wonderland from an entirely new perspective: the POV of the Queen of Hearts.

She's not the dreaded Queen yet, though - she's just Catherine, a young girl with dreams and a formidable skill with tarts. The strong will we have come to expect is heavily tamped down by a desire to please those around her, but Catherine is determined to find her own way to persevere through annoying croquet games and strange tea parties.

When she meets Jest, the court joker, her plans become flexible enough to include him as well. Unfortunately, no one else is flexing.

What struck me above all the cleverness and playful nods to the original story was the accessibility of the tale. Readers of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and (to a lesser extent) Through the Looking Glass will enjoy the references to the timeless classics, but those who haven't read either story will love Heartless just the same.

The tale is poignant and thoughtful while retaining the Wonderland zaniness. So many connections between characters almost seamlessly fit with their originals that it seems eerie at times, in a good way. Once again, Marissa Meyer has married classic stories to powerful emotions, and the result is well worth the read.

Blurb:

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

Did you like this review? Leave a comment, or see my other reviews.

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Book Review: Yeager's Law - 4.5 stars

Yeager's Law by Scott Bell

Normally I'm not much of a thriller fan, but Yeager's Law by Scott Bell is well worth the detour. This book doesn't rely on cheap jump-scare tactics and eerie feelings to communicate a sense of danger, which is nice. It's fast-paced and action-heavy. If you're looking for a bit of modern-day swash and buckle, this one is for you.

Bell flips back and forth between multiple viewpoints to give us all angles of the story. That can get confusing, but I never had to check back and figure out who was whom. For a batty reader like me, that's an impressive feat. Even with all the viewpoint switching, there were still a few surprises saved up at the end, which made it fun as well as interesting.

There's a low-key romance element there too, which helps a lot - especially since the love interest in question is an impressive lady herself. Fainting damsel in distress she is not.

My only complaint is that the "bad guys" were at times a little too definitively "bad," but only a little. I never felt it was outside the bounds of reason, but once or twice I wrinkled my nose a bit. Still, Abel Yeager and his cast of co-stars were plenty awesome enough to make up for it.

This book is part one of a series, and I definitely plan to check out the next installment!

Blurb:

Abel Yeager is dead broke, down on his luck, and suffering from a serious case of what-the-hell-does-it-matter. His transition from active Marine to stateside long-haul trucker hit a wicked speed bump when his rig was involved in a wreck that claimed the life of a pregnant woman and laid him up for several months.

Back at work but deeply in debt, Yeager meets bookstore owner Charlie Buchanan in St. Louis and jumps at the chance to haul a load of remainder books to Austin for her. On the way south, a crew of truck thieves tracks his every move. But none of them know what Charlie’s ex has smuggled inside the book pallets, who he stole it from, or how far the owner will go to get it back. Charlie’s the first person Yeager has cared about in a long time, but as their bond deepens, so does the danger they’re in.

With enemy forces closing in, Yeager battles greed, corruption, and his own fatalism in a bid to hold true to Yeager’s First Law: come home at the end of the day.

Did you like this review? Leave a comment, or see my other reviews.

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I'm sure by now you know all about my Patreon page, but you might not know that I am also a patron to six artists on Patreon. Today, I'd like to share a couple of my favorite Patreon artists.

"Don't quit your day job" is the kind of sarcastic saying people use to indicate that someone is bad at what they're doing, but for many artists, that statement applies even if they're awesome. The arts don't usually pay well, and even when they do, it's notoriously inconsistent. As a result, even artists who are talented and successful can't turn their full focus to their craft. Enter Patreon.

Patreon is a great crowdfunding program which allows artists to work without worry about fluctuations of income.

Without patrons, artists have to find a way to supplement their income, which can be a huge bummer when those supplemental income sources have nothing to do with the art they create.

Today, I want to share with you six artists I support directly from my own income on Patreon, because nothing is better than knowing that your contributions support not just one, but seven members of the artistic community. I'll also add in some super-useful animal pics along the way, for science. Here's a preview:

potential favorite patreon artist
This lil guy probably has a Patreon to support his art, too; I just haven't found it yet. Once I do, he'll go to the top of my list.

Look at those adorable knees! I mean - AHEM. In no particular order, here we go.

My Favorite Patreon Artists (Part 1):

N.K. Jemisin

N.K. Jemisin is an award-winning author of science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. Her work is always fresh and exciting. She sets up strange worlds and storylines with effortless poise, and her characters are so full of heart it hurts sometimes. If you've never read her books, I highly recommend her first novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. 

This should of course be followed by everything else she's ever written in quick succession.

What do I mean by "award-winning author," exactly? Well, check out her description on the about section of her website:

Her work has been nominated for the Hugo (three times), the Nebula (four times), and the World Fantasy Award (twice); shortlisted for the Crawford, the Gemmell Morningstar, and the Tiptree; and she has won a Locus Award for Best First Novel as well as the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award (three times). In 2016, she became the first black person to win the Best Novel Hugo for The Fifth Season.

So what does this masterful storyteller need from Patreon? Well, from her own description, she wanted to quit her day job. In order to quit her job and devote herself to writing, she needed a steady, dependable income.

N.K. Jemisin had serious writing chops and the awards and publications to prove it, but she still needed the promise of steady income to quit her day job and devote time to her craft.

What do patrons get?

She reached and blew past her initial income goals, so she has time to write and even opened up some of the upper-tier bonus award to everyone. Patrons can expect perks like:

  • Exclusive short stories
  • Adorable cat pics
  • Monthly Q&A videos
  • Blog posts
  • Early looks at chapters

All of this is available to every patron, for a dollar per month as long as her income stays above a certain level.

Best of all, she writes more than ever now, so you can binge read her work with even fewer interruptions.

cat binge read her favorite patreon artists
Of course, make sure to rest your eyes once in a while.

Fredrin

Fredrin/Fred Gallagher/Piro is a webcomic artist best known for megatokyo, a manga-style online comic which started in 2000 and has maintained a devout, sometimes obsessive, fanbase ever since.

I'm one of those fans, and as soon as Fredrin mentioned he had set up a Patreon account, I jumped at the chance to add my name to the list. He quit his "day job" to support himself and his family with his art years ago, and ever since Megatokyo has had fewer and fewer updates.

That seems counter-intuitive, doesn't it? Part of the reason was because he devoted his time to many, many projects, like the Endgames Series or re-draws of the comic for his Megatokyo Omnibus. Part of it was due to a much more basic reason, as addressed on his Patreon page:

Oddly enough, the writing, drawing and creation of comic pages is the one thing in Megatokyo that does not directly support itself.

Megatokyo has always been free, and he doesn't stuff his page with ads, so the money he made from the site was always from side jobs. Thankfully, his side jobs involved illustrating characters from his own comics for commission, which is closer to making money via your art than any of my other favorite Patreon artists got.

What do patrons get?

He has a few tiers of rewards, but even at the very lowest level (one dollar per months) patrons can expect things like:

  • New comic strips 1 day early
  • New drawings 1 day early
  • Patron-only polls

Best of all, he's back to posting regularly! Yay comics.

That's all for now. I'll be back soon with another installment of my favorite Patreon artists. Check these two out! You have nothing to lose!

puppy who wants you to see my favorite patreon artists
I don't want to tell you that this lil guy wants you to. Don't make me do it.

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I've read a lot of opinions lately about romance, and some of them seem a bit - off. I don't intend to cite them here, both because:

  1. I don't want to lend some kind of implied legitimacy to their claim, and
  2. This blog is about why I write romance. I can't pretend to answer for all romance writers.

Just the romance writers who are also awesome, amazing bats.

Sassy romance bat
Like me, for instance.

I didn't grow up reading romance novels. This is, I understand, somewhat odd in the romance writer's world. In fact, it's probably odd in general. A lot of young women read romance novels. Most of the girls I knew did, anyway.

I didn't have time with that. I was reading Serious Fiction. Science fiction and fantasy, mostly, but obviously literary masterpieces which were far superior to anything featuring a burly man in a tartan.

Obviously.

Of course, since I read constantly, I would run out of books to read, and I'd occasionally venture into my mother's stash of romance novels. This was out of necessity, of course. I wasn't reading them because I enjoyed stories about love and loss, betrayal and redemption, no no. I was just desperate for any book at the time, you see.

You believe me, right?

Me neither.

Years later, I was working on a story, and I realized I had created a love triangle with no real knowledge of how to write one of those. Sure, there were several novels I'd read which had complex romantic situations, but not enough for my comfort.

I've always been a researcher. I was that kid who needed just a little bit of reference material from the library and walked out with a four foot high stack of books - the perfect amount for my two-page paper.

Books for research
Okay, now I'm ready to write "What I did during summer vacation."

So when I needed to know more, and came up empty on books to read for my love triangle, I panicked.

That was when my mother handed me a stack of books from her shelf. Romance novels. The horror.

Those books sat on my shelf for almost a year, while I struggled and cursed and eventually just gave up and munched a bucket of crickets. Then I rearranged my bookshelves one day and rediscovered the novels.

I should really get these back to mom, I thought. Okay, I'll just read one, and that way I can tell her I tried them and it didn't work.

Then I dove into the first book. And the next book. Before I came out of my book-reading haze, I was on Amazon buying more e-books from the same authors. This was when I realized something which had somehow eluded me for years.

Romance novels are fun.

I'd spent so long thinking of writing a novel as an important work of art, and never considered that maybe I was getting in my own way about this whole reading thing. Naturally, my next thought was maybe I was getting in my own way about writing, too.

So I started writing romance. That was fun too. Now I make a point to write or read a little of it every day, because it makes me happy. Happier than I ever was trying to write the Book of the Century.

seal writes romance
This seal knows. She writes romance too.

That's what reading and writing romance is all about, for me. It makes me happy. And that's something special

 

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Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell: 4 stars

 I've read, watched and agonized over a ton of twisted/fractured/rebooted/whatever fairy tales lately. My favorite in the last several weeks is Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell. It has nothing to do with the story I'm writing, unfortunately. Still, you may find some of it has crept into my mind.

The main character, Nicolette, is an inventor and an analogue for Cinderella. She lives a life of constant servitude to her stepmother and evil stepsisters, but without all the sweetness and kindness of the Charles Perrault version. Nicolette (named Mechanica by her stepsisters) has a plan to get herself out of this mess, and it relies on her brilliant abilities as an inventor.

This YA novel explores themes of independence, morality and the nature of love without seeming like a lecture. Nicolette is heroic and admirable, but she is also flawed. She hurts others in her struggle to break free, and she finds herself in a state of deep regret many times. Despite or perhaps because of her flaws, it is easy to cheer her victories and mourn her defeats alongside her.

Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell is a story worth reading, even without the Cinderella twist. The world is believable and complex. The main character is interesting and likable without being saccharine. The magic is well set up with obvious rules without retreating to overly simplistic cliche. All in all, it's fun to read.

Go check it out!

Blurb:

Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have pushed her into a life of dreary servitude. When she discovers a secret workshop in the cellar on her sixteenth birthday—and befriends Jules, a tiny magical metal horse—Nicolette starts to imagine a new life for herself. And the timing may be perfect: There’s a technological exposition and a royal ball on the horizon. Determined to invent her own happily-ever-after, Mechanica seeks to wow the prince and eager entrepreneurs alike.

Did you like this review? Leave a comment, or see my other reviews.

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I've been working on a short story, a little different from my last book. I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it just as much.

It's called "Thief in the Ballroom," a twist on a classic fairy tale, and it's the first of a series of short stories in the same vein. Go get it here!

Also, check out this snazzy cover from Go On Write.

Thief - High Resolution - Version 2

I'm so excited! I've got more coming up soon, stay tuned! Or whatever the internet version of that is.

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I've decided I want to be like Julie James when I grow up. She's already a bestselling author, so you probably already know of her. If you don't, please allow me to introduce you!

She's got a ton of books with great protagonists and super hot love scenes. Her leading ladies are self-assured, professional women always ready with a quip, and the men they fall for can keep up with them in every arena.

Best of all, every story is funny. She seems to delight in putting these attractive, successful people in every embarrassing and frustrating predicament in the book. (ha! you get it?)

I've included an amazon associates link to the first in her FBI/US Attorney Series, which is 6 books long and still going strong. You can easily jump into the middle of the series without a problem, but I always like reading from the beginning.