Review: School for Psychics by K.C. Archer

School for Psychics by K.C. Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

[Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.]

This came up on my dashboard on NetGalley, but when I read the synopsis I didn't think I was very interested. There are so many books on my TBR pile this year, I didn't want to waste time on something that didn't sound interesting to me. But then someone I follow, who usually has similar taste in books to me, praised it in a review, and made it sound so much better than the blurb. So I requested it, and I was approved. But I put off reading it because of other books I wanted to read, so this review is a little delayed. My apologies to NG and the author for that.

Anyway, you'll notice that a book I wasn't interested garnered four stars from me. They are pretty enthusiastic stars, too. It wasn't perfect (far from it), but I absolutely loved the character progression and how you are always led in certain ways, but may end up in a different place than expected.

So there was some obvious foreshadowing. A few different characters come under suspicion, and you aren't sure which one(s) to believe or disbelieve, but I think I figured out the "big bad" early on in the book. I wasn't 100% sure, but my suspicions were confirmed at the end.

But it's not really a "big bad" in the sense that the characters have to destroy this thing to save the world. So in that it's much more sinister. What are their true motives? By the end we know approximately who they are, but not what they are, and not really much else about them.

Regarding characterization, I absolutely HATED Teddy when I first met her. She was selfish, seemed to have a sense of guilt but still threw her life away anyway, and didn't seem to want to improve her situation at all. She went to Whitfield very reluctantly, and only because she had just lost a shit-ton of money at poker and her bookie was going to come to collect very soon. When she got there, she distanced herself from everyone, refused to let anyone in, and kept making selfish mistake after selfish mistake. I wanted to slap her in the head and ask her what the heck she was doing, because I know her trajectory is all too realistic and it is frustrating. She was *real* to me. Even when she's still screwing up at the end, she's still struggling with everything she has done. There is development there, progress, and a shift in perspective for her.

So by the end, I had grown to love Teddy and all of her flaws, despite all her mistakes, or maybe because of them.

Also, I just need to talk about Jillian for a second. Does anyone watch The Good Place? The entire book, all I could picture whenever Jillian was speaking or mentioned was Tahani. For reference:



I think my one major complaint about this book, hence only 4 stars, is that all the characters acted and spoke like teenagers, not people in their mid-20s. I also couldn't get a read on how old Nick was, which confused me a little later on in the book. So I had a hard time not reading these kids as high-schoolers in a military setting, which has obviously been done before, but it didn't read right for me. Also, there seemed to be some jumping around in time that wasn't clearly noted, so I would be reading something about the characters being one place, and then shortly after they were somewhere else with no indication that they had moved. That may have been the ARC, or it may have been that I was missing the written shift for some reason, or it may have just been that way.

Overall, a great book and satisfying read. I'm glad I read that review, I'm glad I requested it, and I'm glad I read it. Psychics are hard to do well. I think K.C. Archer did a good job, and I look forward to reading book 2 when it comes out.

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Review: Sorcerer's Feud

Sorcerer's Feud by Katharine Kerr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[Disclaimer: I read this book twice in beta and was sent a copy by the author when it was finished. My opinions are my own.]

***There are no spoilers in this post, unless you have not read book 1, in which case what are you doing?? Go read it now!!***

In the second installment of the "Runemaster" series, Maya and Tor are dealing with the aftermath of the accidental murder of Tor's uncle Nils. The book picks up almost immediately after the last book ended, with Maya worrying that the police are going to figure out she killed Nils, and come after her. Not to mention her brother is still in the hospital and not progressing with his recovery, she has a final project for her degree to work on, she's finally engaged to Tor, and they make the discovery that Nils had kids, one of whom makes contact with Tor regarding the will.

On top of all of that, there's a frost giant who keeps showing up in the driveway demanding the gold plaque that Tor won't give back, Tor is still a were-bear, and Maya is finally confronting the memories that can unlock her heritage and her powers. And Nazis! *dun dun dun*

Let's get one thing straight: This series is fan-freaking-tastic! I loved reading it all three times, and even in my final read I discovered new things and saw some minor changes that really illuminated the plot. I always have fun reading about Maya and Tor, they are a great couple of characters. And the addition of Joel, Tor's cousin, was a great way to show how Maya is becoming entrenched in the magical world. His disbelief was once hers, but now she's so involved that it's like she was never a "normal" person. Her heritage is even more engrossing, because we finally learn where she's from and how she got her "disease."

Obviously it's not true urban fantasy, and the author says as much in the note at the beginning. It doesn't really fit into any one genre, at least not completely. I consider it simply fantasy set in the modern world (which I normally don't like to read as much, but I find this set wholly entertaining). The writing style is pretty easy to read, because you can end up reading a huge chunk of the book and not realize how much until you check your page count! And it never gets boring. I highly recommend this series (definitely start with book 1, Sorcerer's Luck) to anyone who enjoys a fun but intense story about magic, runes, old gods, and some spicy romance.

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Review: Sorcerer's Luck

Sorcerer's Luck by Katharine Kerr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Simply put, I love this book. It is so imaginative and original, and full of history and magic and all sorts of fun!

Maya Cantescu meets a sorcerer while she's drawing portraits at a local fair. He draws her into his world with the offer of a job, and since she's barely scraping by she talks herself into it. Maya isn't just any ordinary girl herself, though - she's a vampire. No, not the blood-sucking kind, but the kind that feeds on other people's energies. She could easily kill someone if she took too much, but she has trained herself to only take smidgins here and there. This has barely worked for her, but by the time she meets the sorcerer, Tor, she isn't at the peak of health.

It seems like love at first sight, but as we get further into the story we find out that they have known each other a lot longer than Maya first thought!

There's also the hitch that Tor is a were-bear. Can Maya keep him locked in his room every full moon so that he doesn't go off gallivanting around the countryside eating small children? And what really goes on behind that locked door every cycle?

Most of the action focuses on Tor's uncle Nils, who has a huge vendetta against him for some perceived slight. It takes probably half of the book to figure this out, but that's hardly where the excitement ends!

The masterful writing coupled with a great story has really turned out a great book. At the end we're left with the set-up for another book, which is awesome, because I seriously can't get enough of Maya and Tor, her brother Roman, and her kooky friend Brittany.

5/5 stars, highly recommended to anyone who loves fantasy, adventure, romance, magic, mythology, and just enjoying a darn good read.

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Review: Desdaemona

Desdaemona by Ben Macallan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is hard to review. I enjoyed the story, sort of, but didn't particularly click with the story-telling. Jordan's storyline never quite did it for me. And his complicated relationship with Desi was confusing because I never figured out whether he truly felt anything for her or if it was all her aspect pulling him along. I felt like I was being dropped into the middle of a series, rather than the beginning of one. The plot twist was not foreseen and I was left wondering "Well what happens next?" by the end. Not sure if I'll read to find out.

Not a bad read, just not up there with my favorites.

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2012: A Retrospective (Of Sorts)

Another year gone, another lump of books read.  To be quite honest, I'm not disappointed in myself at all for failing to reach my 75 book goal.  In looking at my list of books read this year, I am quite proud of the genres, lengths and authors I've tackled this year and I am feeling very accomplished at a total of 51 completed books for the year.  Of course, I can't count the two unpublished manuscripts I read, nor can I count the book I am working on proofing (I am getting it chapter by chapter, so I haven't finished reading it yet as it's not yet done).  But if you do count those in my totals I'm up to 54, which is admirable in itself.

Anyway, enough patting myself on the back.  And don't mind me as I take a short stroll through some of my most memorable reads of the year.

(There are captions underneath the photos - I don't know how to change the color of the text so just hover for the captions and the links.  You'll be able to see them that way if you're interested!)

The Zona, by Nathan L. Yocum
Photo from Goodreads.com

The Zona - Nathan L. Yocum
Date started: 2/14/2012
Date finished: 2/17/2012

This book was more of a novella, as it was only 115 pages.  I didn't particularly click with this one, didn't enjoy the read as much as I had hoped, but it was an interesting book that has stuck with me since I read it.  It's certainly an interesting topic for thought: Preachers as killers, tasked with sending their marks to their death or to Purgatory.  The thing that has stuck with me the most, though, was how the reader gets to see three different points of view on what happened to Vegas, a brutal massacre on the part of the Church in order to purge sin from the world.  A recommended read, even if you don't consider yourself a religious person.

Review: Apocalypse to Go by Katharine Kerr

This book will be released on February 7, 2012.  I have actually read it, and it is fantastic!  Kit will be doing a signing on February 11th at Borderlands Books in San Franciso.  You can order signed copies from their website by e-mailing them if you don't live locally.  There is also a giveaway over on Goodreads that you can enter.  Kit says these will be shipped directly from the publisher, so they will not be signed.

You can read excerpts at her blog, along with progress updates on her other works, and other non-book talk.

Apocalypse to Go by Katharine Kerr

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nola O'Grady gets deeper into the deviant world levels in the third installment of this exciting series. Greeted by a projection of a leopard-woman one morning, followed by a vision of the destruction of the level known as Interchange, Nola grabs her partner (in every sense of the word) and heads off on an exciting and fast-paced mission. Her goal at first is to find out who this "ASO Fourteen" who has been contacting Ari is. But it leads her somewhere I don't think she ever anticipated.



Family secrets come to the surface as Nola finds out who her father really is, and where he has been for so long. The climax of the book comes upon the reader with anticipation and a big bang. And Nola makes a huge change for the better - but you'll have to read to find that one out.



This is a fantastic addition to the series and sets up a great continuation into the next book, not yet published. Check it out - you will enjoy this, and you'll be surprised at how the action carries you through. I finished in about two days, and enjoyed every minute!



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Review: Water to Burn

Water to Burn by Katharine Kerr

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As the second book in the Nola O'Grady series (number of books as yet undetermined), this continues the story of Nola's psychic investigations into multiple realities, as well as more of the story involving the Chaos forces she fought in the previous book, License to Ensorcell. I'll start off by saying that I love this series and can't wait to read the next one when it comes out next year.

What I love about these books is that they don't take themselves too seriously. A lot of writers get so wrapped up in what they're trying to say that they forget to let the story do the telling. Water to Burn isn't especially lighthearted, but it's not dark enough that you are left feeling you just read a heavy mystery novel. Overall, it's a pretty quick and easy read, but it gets you involved enough in the characters and the story that you don't mind.

Nola is a pretty complex character for this kind of urban fantasy, and her relationship with Ari becomes more involved in this book. Let me get something straight here: The person who did the cover art totally got Ari wrong. Do you know who I picture when I read Ari? This guy. Right there. Yep, that's Ari in my head. And when I imagine him protecting Nola, and being her bodyguard, and being such a MAN, I admit I get a little lightheaded. So I can see why Nola would be totally hot for him, because hell, I am totally hot for him myself!

...Anyway...

Another thing I love about this book was that, since you really need to have read LtE first, the explanations of the backstory were short and sweet. I didn't get long-winded explanations of what happened a few months before, and could just move on in the story. It probably would have helped if I had re-read the first book before reading this one, but I still remembered enough of it that reading this one wasn't confusing. There are a lot of acronyms in the book, but they are spelled out in the back.

I'm curious to see if Nola will follow the doctor's advice and put on some weight, because quite frankly she's way too skinny, and I've only "read" her!

I look forward to reading the next installment, in the hopes that the storyline with Michael and Nola's father will be delved into next. It was a great plot surprise to find out that their father opened the portal in the house, and I can't wait to see how Michael's powers will manifest themselves. Also, I wonder how Sophia will adjust to the world she's entered and if she will be able to cope with her new surroundings.

This was a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who (a) loves Kit, (b) loves fantasy, and/or (c) loves a great read that won't take up a lot of time. In fact, if I'd put my mind to it, I could have very easily finished this in a couple of days instead of the approximate week it took me.



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