Category: Book Review

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Fantasy Worth Reading: Ravage of the Revenants #BookReview #LitRPG #fantasybooks #booklovers

Ravage of the Revenants by Christine Rains is the second book in the Khthonia series. Like the first, this novel transported me to a magical land with elves, giants, orcs, dwarves, fae, humans, and creatures. If you’re looking for an escape and an enjoyable one, get this book on your Kindle today.

The characters are well-formed with flaws and strengths. And, as it turns out in this sequel, they don’t all have the same goal. Not everyone in Nora’s party wants to get home.  They take us through the land and troubles of Khthonia through their stories.

As in any enthralling story, the plot thickens and builds to a fantastic battle. I doubt the author wrote this story with my favorite game world in mind (as mine is a computer game and not a tabletop game), but that’s what I picture as I read, and I love that.  Which means, you don’t have to be a gamer with dice to easily follow this story and the nuances.

The ending is satisfying and leaves a large crack for the next book in the series. I can’t wait for it! So, yes, I recommend this book.

Everyone knows if you split the party, the players will die.

But what if it’s the only way to discover who the villain might be?

Nora Quinn has spent years honing her mystery solving skills, and when the game calls for several days of gathering information, she’s excited to uncover who the evil necromancer is. She plays Essaerae, an elven bard who is at home with the aristocrats of Willowbright Woods and political maneuvering. Yet her friends are not. They’re enjoying their new lives trapped in the dark fantasy world of Khthonia and finding the way home is no longer a priority, especially if it means hours of tedious investigating.

Assassins set their sights on the heroes and undead attack the city. Someone on the esteemed Council is likely the necromancer, and to end the curse on Khthonia, the players must unmask them. Nora’s left to figure the puzzle out on her own. The problem is, if she splits from the party, she will die.

A fantasy LitRPG/GameLit for fans of table-top role-playing games.

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#Scif Worth Reading: Space Murder #BookReview

Looking for some space fun and some laughs? Space Murder: Captain Liz Laika Mysteries 1 by Nikki Haverstock will fulfill that wish.

The action is nonstop in this story, and the characters were really fun. Captain Liz is head honcho on a very slow freighter that delivers goods from place to place. Convinced her life isn’t great, she keeps to herself and doesn’t realize how much she has to lose. Not until she’s framed for a murder committed aboard her ship.

This novel is very well written and has fun twists and turns. It’s basically a cozy mystery in space. A lot goes wrong very quickly in the plot, and then keeps getting worse. Nothing was boring about this read. It was very enjoyable. Yup, I recommend this one, and, yes, I was attracted to the dinosaur on the cover.  Couldn’t say no to that.

For everything there is a season…
Once the star student of her training class, Captain Liz Laika is now an outcast, a casualty of family scandal. Now stuck in the worst post in the Fleet, she should keep her head down. But when a Cerulean passenger is found decapitated, and Liz is framed for the murder, she has no choice but to fight for her life. No easy feat when she’s facing kidnapping, ship-eating whales, horse-sized spiders and corrupt fleet officers with personal vendettas. And in the middle of the intergalactic murder drama, her ex-fiancé reappears. Captain Liz needs to clear her name–and fast.

 

 

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#SciFi Worth Reading: Dark Nebula #BookReview

After starting a bunch of books I didn’t care to finish, I found a gem-Dark Nebula: Isolation by Sean Wilson. Well written, well-plotted, and a treat that kept unfolding.

This is a space opera with a great cast and a plot too big to be contained in one book. The pages turned quickly while I gobbled down this fantastic read filled with intrigue, mysteries, secrets, and aliens. There was fascinating new technology, and the whole book is spent in space. In this future world, humanity expands into the solar system and beyond. Plans were put in place to save us from a threat that arrived hundreds of years ago and kept a heavily guarded secret.

The worlds and populations are interesting and complex. A lot went on before the novel opens, which impacts parts of the story, and a lot is going on when the aliens arrive in our solar system. Their intent isn’t friendly, and it all hinges on that old secret.

A very excellent space opera, and I look forward to reading more in the series. Of course, I recommend this one.

 

Lies crafted from good intentions. Death spreading through the stars. When the past returns to claim its due, will anyone survive?

Earth Solar System, the Future. Abigail Olivaw is drowning in self-doubt. Hiding a devastating secret from the populace, the President of the Confederation of Planetary Explorers is horrified when hostile aliens arrive to announce they’re putting humanity on trial. Forced to act as her species’ defender in court, she struggles to hide her family’s hidden multi-generational history that could lead to a sentence of genocide.

Epsilon Eridani Colony. Joyce Green’s passion for her job is dwarfed only by her love for her son. So when he dies from a mysterious virus that threatens the entire settlement, the Director of Colonization vows to stop at nothing to discover what triggered the deadly infection. And as she uncovers the truth bit by bit, her heartbreak fuels a berserk need for justice.

Trapped by guilt over a mistake she didn’t choose, Abigail falls into a tailspin when the invaders reveal the facts of her race’s origins. And when Joyce unmasks a traitor, the rest of her people would be lucky to only die from disease.

With their paths on a collision course, will the women’s consequence-laden decisions destroy humankind’s last hope?

 

 

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#SciFi Worth Reading: All Systems Red #BookReview

Robot stories aren’t usually my thing, but All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells changed my mind.

Murderbot was easy to identify with and to root for. It just wants to be left in peace to watch TV but is forced to figure out what it wants. The clients it is contracted to watch over end up in a pickle, and Murderbot decides to help.

Murderbot can ignore its programming and surprises itself by continuing to assist its humans.

The story stirs up all sorts of questions. What is life? If it can think and feel, does it have rights? Mostly, what will Murderbot do now?

I’m so curious, I ordered the second book. Yup, it was that good. There was suspense and action, and I got to spend some time on an alien planet. All pluses for me.

I would recommend this book, however, t’s a short one. It doesn’t take long to devour it. It’s also a pricey series.

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

 

 

 

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#Fantasy Worth Reading: A Shudder of Specters #BookReview

If you’re looking for a delicious escape, Shudder of Specters: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure by Christine Rains is a novel you’ll want to add to your Kindle ASAP.

The story is fun and fast-paced, and it was easy to place myself in the setting. The characters and plot caught my attention from page one and didn’t let go. Eagerly, I returned to this book every night and turned the pages longer than I should have (on a work night).

The premise: A usual game night turns into most players’ fantasy-actually living in the game world.

A fan of the Elder Scrolls, it was easy for me to slip into the world and envision the monsters, the adventure, and the characters. I’ve not read a book in this genre before but now I will look for more.

And great news! I know Christine Rains is about to publish the second book in this series. Awesome for me and my Kindle.

So, yes, I would recommend this book. A lot. Well, if you want to actually enjoy what you’re reading.  You can find it on AMAZON

In every one of their games, the bard dies first.

But this time, she may be the only one who can save them all.

Nora Quinn wants to play a bard like no other seen before, and the newest table-top role-playing game is the perfect chance to show off her skills. Yet when Nora and her friends find themselves in the dark fantasy world of Khthonia, she struggles to be any type of bard at all. There, things aren’t as straightforward as the games she’s used to playing.

If she and her friends want to get back to the real world, then Nora has to lift the curse plaguing Khthonia for over a century. The fate of the realm and their way home rest in Nora’s hands, but will she survive when the bard is always the first to die?