Love Story, With Murders by Harry Bingham

I managed to borrow another two Fiona Griffiths novels before I left, but due to general packing and busy-stuff, I only got to posting my review of the second book now. Contrary to what I thought, the Love Story in the title doesn't actually refer to the budding romance between Fiona and the normal policeman Buzz, but between two bodies.

What two bodies? Oh yeah. Ok, so one day, Fiona gets called to the scene of a now-dead old widow (not the victim), where she finds a leg. A leg complete with a pink high-heel shoe, frozen. When the police start searching for the rest of the corpse, they find other body parts, but these are male and freshly dead. Is there a connection between the two? Are the police overthinking it?

This novel brings over quite a few characters from the first over. Not Jackson, the guy in charge (there's another officer in charge for this case), but Penry, the criminal ex-officer makes his fair share of appearances, and of course, Fiona's family and friends play a part. In fact, I think that Fiona's family plays a bigger part in this mystery. Previously, it was hinted that not all of Fiona's dad's money came about legally; in this book, they tell me he's a crime boss. No wonder he wasn't happy that Fiona became part of the police force.

Fiona is as strange as ever, although she's slowly approaching normal. Very, very slowly. I mean, she still has that connection to dead people, and her illness is still casting its shadow, but she's making progress. She's becoming a normal girlfriend, she's starting to get along with her colleagues, and I forgot what, but there was a list. Fiona's as surprised as the reader.

I only have two "complaints" about the book, and one's not really a complaint. The not-really-a-complaint complaint is that the ending is unsatisfying. I want one where the bad guys die/get locked in jail, but the book mimics real life, where sometimes, bad people can do bad things and get away with it.

The other complaint is that this book seemed to have more swearing than the previous one. I'm not sure if I just didn't notice the swearing in the previous book, and was more sensitive in this, or if it was, but for readers who don't like this sort of thing, here's the warning. I don't like it, myself, but I think the novel is good enough that I'd read it.

When I next have the time, my review of the third book will be up, and I'd have caught up with the series (I think?)

Storm without End by R.J. Blain

I'm so glad that I read Storm Without End just before Storm Surge (the sequel) came out. Because by the time the book ends, you'll want to purchase the next one.

Storm Surge starts with Kalen, the Rift King, as he's out of his kingdom. Why? We don't know, but the poor guy is going to undergo a lot of suffering before the book ends. At the same time, his guardians are out there searching for him, because if he dies, the Rift will Ride. Ok, I don't know what that really implies, but it's a cool phrase that's repeated quite a few times.

Kalen, the poor guy with the worst luck in this book, is a young 30 year old Rift king who's been reigning for 15 years. Because of his small size and missing arm, people can underestimate him. Even I underestimated what he could do, although I could see he was smart. But at the end of the book, I found out just how powerful he is, which justified the reasons why the Rift King was so feared.

Apart from Kalen, there are a few other characters, like his father Breton and his - whoops, almost had a spoiler there. Suffice to say, Kalen's familial relations are complicated, even if we don't include his many, many adopted foals (sons/daughters. The Rift seems to love their horse and horse-inspired terms). Anyway, Breton comes across to me as a really sweet guy, although as a Guardian, I'm pretty sure I'd be scared of him if I met him.

As for the Rift, well, I haven't really figured out what it was. I know slightly more about this world at the end of the book than at the start, but I can't say I know everything. I know, for instance, how Kalen becomes the Rift King (and how Rift Kings are made), but the reason why the Rift King is so important, I still don't know.

This book basically builds up for the next book. This world that R.J. has built is very unfamiliar to me, so the time spent on getting to know it should pay off in the later books. At least, given the promising cast of characters so far, I hope it does.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review.

The Rift by J.T. Stoll

This one requires a pretty big disclaimer, so let me get it out of the way (I'll repeat it again later). Not only did I receive a free copy from the author, I happen to know the author. He's one of the WriteOn members, and I have traded critiques for it. That said, I've done my best to be objective.

The Rift follows four, well, they're not really friends, so perhaps averaging out their relationships, I'd say acquaintance? There's Vero, who's dating Pieter, who brought her on a double date with his friend Neil and Gloria. I suppose Pieter is the friend in common. Anyway, there are these four kids, and on the double date which wasn't really working out, they come across a dying soldier from another world. He warns them of a coming invasion, gives them special weapons then dies. The rest of the book would be about the four trying to decide what to do, and running away from two of the evil soldiers that slipped in when the first soldier did.

Because this book is the first in the series, a lot of the space is there for the laying of groundwork. Sure, the kids are running and learning how to deal with their weapons, but the threatened invasion is absent for most of the book. But, the start at the end does focus on the other world (which gave me a shock, because Chapter one and the Prologue seemed so drastically different), tying this to the overarching plot.

I liked Vero and her family, and I hope to see more of them in the next books. As for the other three, they did have their appearances, but I felt Vero was the strongest character, and I liked her the best. Gloria sort of, faded, into the background until the end. Neil and Pieter were basically opposites - One super enthused about getting a quest like in a video game while the other is just trying to get away from it.

This book was short, but I'm not lying when I say that I enjoyed it. I'm the sort that likes reading about people mastering new skills and new environments, so while I do wish that the story was a bit longer and had more about the other world, it was still a fun and fairly read for me.

Disclaimer (the second one): I received a free copy of the book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review.

Easter Break!

Hey everyone! I've got tons of reviews waiting to post, but it's Holy Week and I don't have much time to be on the Internet. Plus, I've got to prepare to go back to Japan, because I leave Monday night.

I'll probably see everyone next Tuesday (if I can).

Please enjoy this photo of flowers :D