The Qwillery

Bye bye May! I can't believe that May has come and gone. I hope that May brought you some blooming great books (get it...May flowers....blooming???...tee hee).  Well excuse my poor sense of humour. I have jetlag after a rather long journey back from the east coast of Canada. The holiday did provide me with the opportunity to read some good books though. So what did I read?


One of my sisters is an ardent fan of Patricia Briggs (she introduced me to the author) and had the most recent Mercy Thompson book - Storm Cursed. I had forgotten that this book had been released so I grabbed her Kindle and piled in. This book is set a mere few months after the events of book 10 when Mercy was kidnapped and held in Europe. Rather than referencing the events of the last book Storm Cursed carries on the plot arc from books 8 and 9. Just when Mercy has a little bit of stability in her life a deadly coven of witches threaten the peace talks between the humans, fae and werewolves. Mercy and the pack promised to protect the Tri Cities and they are determined regardless how many zombie goats they have to kill in the process.

I enjoyed Mercy's 11th adventure more than I thought I would. This instalment links more closely to the overall plot arc (or what I believe is the plot arc) then the previous instalment Silence Fallen (book 10). A number of my favourite characters are back including Zee, Uncle Mike and Larry the Goblin King. The book also emphasizes how Mercy is a bit of an outsider and if it wasn't for being Adam's mate she wouldn't have the support from all of the pack. I felt the book was a bit more like the early books with the dynamic between Mercy, Zee, Tad and the vampire Stefan. Zombie goats aside there are some rather violent sections in this book although much of the violence is recounted rather than experienced by one of the characters. Mercy does get beaten up but not as badly as in previous books. I know this isn't popular with some readers of my posts but I really wish Briggs would wrap up this series. I like Mercy but I think she needs to have her HEA.


I decided to switch it up and read some science fiction after a glut of fantasy and urban fantasy. I turned to the short story Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The story is told by astronaut Gary Rendell. Gary has gone on a mission across the stars to investigate an alien structure. Disaster strikes not long after landing and Gary is alone and lost inside the structure with something or somethings lurking around every corner.

I enjoyed this short story mainly for the witty way in which Tchaikovsky tells the story through Gary's POV. The story switches between the present and the past as Gary recounts how he has ended up in his unique predicament while he wanders through the endless dark tunnels trying to survive. The story is rather light hearted because of Gary's witty story telling until the very end when it gets rather much darker. If you are a science fiction fan and want something that doesn't take ages to read then give Walking to Aldebaran a go.


In case you missed it one of my other reads in May was the final instalment of Lindsay J. Pryor's Blackthorn series - Blood Broken. In honour of this being the final book of the series I wrote a full review which you can read here.


For all you Ilona Andrews fans you are going to be totally jealous that I got an advance copy of Sapphire Flames which is the soon to be released latest book in the Hidden Legacy series. I have to wait a bit before I am able to review it. It is out in August so look for my review sometime in July.


That's all I have for you for this month. I am going to be a bit more dedicated to the blog and get some full reviews posted so wish me luck. Until June happy reading!

Storm Cursed
Mercy Thompson 11
Ace, May 7, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 368 pages

In this powerful entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, Mercy Thompson must face a deadly enemy to defend all she loves…

My name is Mercedes Athena Thompson Hauptman, and I am a car mechanic.
And a coyote shapeshifter.
And the mate of the Alpha of the Columbia Basin werewolf pack.

Even so, none of that would have gotten me into trouble if, a few months ago, I hadn’t stood upon a bridge and taken responsibility for the safety of the citizens who lived in our territory. It seemed like the thing to do at the time. It should have only involved hunting down killer goblins, zombie goats, and an occasional troll. Instead, our home was viewed as neutral ground, a place where humans would feel safe to come and treat with the fae.

The reality is that nothing and no one is safe.  As generals and politicians face off with the Gray Lords of the fae, a storm is coming and her name is Death.

But we are pack, and we have given our word.

We will die to keep it.

Walking to Aldebaran
Solaris, May 28, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 140 pages

Chilling story of a lost astronaut on an alien artefact from Arthur C. Clarke award-winning Adrian Tchaikovsky

My name is Gary Rendell. I’m an astronaut. When they asked me as a kid what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, “astronaut, please!” I dreamed astronaut, I worked astronaut, I studied astronaut.

I got lucky; when a probe sent out to explore the Oort Cloud found a strange alien rock and an international team of scientists was put together to go and look at it, I made the draw.

I got even luckier. When disaster hit and our team was split up, scattered through the endless cold tunnels, I somehow survived.

Now I’m lost, and alone, and scared, and there’s something horrible in here.

Lucky me.

Lucky, lucky, lucky.

I am going to start this post with a confession. I'm not really a size zero....just kidding! My confession is that I made some poor reading choices this week. Not that the books I read weren't good...rather that I read them too early. I received a few books from NetGalley and in my excitement to read them I didn't check the publication dates and I can't tell them you about them quite yet. I do have a couple of books to tell you about though so don't despair.


I received Patricia Brigg's 10th instalment of the Mercy Thompson series Silence Fallen via NetGalley a few months ago. This was another book I read too early, couldn't review immediately after I read it and then forgot I had. Sorry! I did a quick re-read in order to review it for you as soon as I remembered I had it!

This instalment starts quite dramatically with Mercy being abducted not far from her and Adam's home. She wakes up in Europe in the home of a ruthless and evil vampire. Mercy's link to Adam is cut off and she is on her own and it is going to take all her skill and luck of the coyote to survive this. While Mercy looks to escape Adam is forming an unlikely alliance with the vampire queen Marsilia and Stefan in order to rescue Mercy. Told from both Mercy and Adam's POV we travel across Europe as both the hunted and the hunter in search of answers and in search of mercy.

I thought it was interesting that Briggs decided to tell this story from multiple POVs and you can't beat Prague for an atmospheric setting. I really think that Brigg's needs to wrap up this series as the story lines are starting to feel forced. There are only so many times that Mercy can just miss dying. It feels like her 9 lives should have been used up already. It is difficult to see where else Briggs can go with these characters. Good book if you need a time filler but I wouldn't say it was essential reading in the series.

UK Cover

A number of people have recommended Benedict Jacka's Alex Versus series to me and it has taken me a while to decide to buy one of the books. That time arrived and I got my chance to see what everyone has been talking about by starting with Fated. Qwill reviewed this book back in 2012 so you can read what she thought about it here.

As not to repeat the synopsis of the book again I am just going to tell you what I thought. I liked Alex Versus and thought he was an engaging and conflicted character. I usually always enjoy books set in London and this was no exception. My friends who have recommended this series said it was really funny and while I didn't necessarily think it was a laugh a minute I did find Alex mildly amusing. I have also heard comparisons to Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden but again, I couldn't really see the connection - both wizard/mages? That is about it other than they were both loners. I enjoyed Fated but I can't say I would stop reading other books to move onto book 2. Having said that the next time I am looking for a nice enjoyable read then I will check out the next instalment of this series.


That is it for me this week. Wishing you a productive week ahead in reading and remember - check the publication date! Until next week Happy Reading.

Silence Fallen
A Mercy Thompson Novel 10
Ace, March 7, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 384 pages

In the #1 New York Times bestselling Mercy Thompson novels, the coyote shapeshifter has found her voice in the werewolf pack. But when Mercy’s bond with the pack—and her mate—is broken, she’ll learn what it truly means to be alone…

Attacked and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use against alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In coyote form, Mercy escapes—only to find herself without money, without clothing, and alone in the heart of Europe…

Unable to contact Adam and the rest of the pack, Mercy has allies to find and enemies to fight, and she needs to figure out which is which. Ancient powers stir, and Mercy must be her agile best to avoid causing a war between vampires and werewolves, and between werewolves and werewolves. And in the heart of the ancient city of Prague, old ghosts rise…

Fated
An Alex Verus Novel 1
Ace, February 28, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 304 pages

Alex Verus is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London. And while Alex’s own powers aren’t as showy as some mages, he does have the advantage of foreseeing the possible future–allowing him to pull off operations that have a million-to-one-chance of success.

But when Alex is approached by multiple factions to crack open a relic from a long-ago mage war, he knows that whatever’s inside must be beyond powerful. And thanks to his abilities, Alex can predict that by taking the job, his odds of survival are about to go from slim to none…

Welcome to February. While some people find January the toughest month of the year I definitely get the February blues. As I write this it is grey, overcast, windy, and cold outside (although this is England so that could be any day in any month). Lucky for you (and for me) I read a couple of great books that I get to tell you all about.

US Cover - Ace

First up is Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs which is the 9th in the Mercy Thompson series. In this instalment tensions are running high between the werewolves, the humans and the fae. After saving her city from a rampaging troll Mercy discovers a way a key to help slow down the escalating tensions with the fae - a human child who was kidnapped by the fae centuries ago. Mercy and her mate Adam decide to protect the child regardless what the cost, and the cost turns out to be pretty high. This isn't your average human child as the young boy is fire-touched and could turn their very lives into a pile of ash. Is this boy worth being excised from The Pack? You need to read it to find out.

UK Cover - Orbit

I have been thinking since about book 6 that Briggs needed to start to wrap this series up as I was getting a tad bored with Mercy getting beaten up every instalment (or worse). The last book she nearly dies after being almost barbecued by a volcano god. But guess what readers?  She barely gets a scratch in Fire Touched! What a relief. This book still had action but more importantly character development. There were actually repercussions from Mercy's actions but this time they weren't physical. All in all a great read. I have also included both covers.  Which one do you prefer?  One is a bit more graphic novel than the other and I don't think Mercy ever wears a denim crop top!


Book 2 for me was Tanya Huff's Sing the Four Quarters. This book was first published 22 years ago and re-released in digital format last year. I love Tanya Huff and I really enjoyed this first instalment of the Quarters series.

Annice is a bard, not just any bard as she can sing all four quarters. What does this mean?  She can sing to the all four of the kigh (aka elementals)  -wind, water, earth, and fire. When Annice comes back from a Walk no one is more surprised than she that she is pregnant. Normally, this wouldn't be considered treason, but Annice was forbidden to have children by her brother, the new king, when she left the royal family to be trained as a bard. What makes it worse is that the father of her child is found to have committed treason and Annice is determined to clear his name.

If you like high fantasy, amusing characters and a nice mystery then I urge you to try this book. I am not sure however, I will continue with the series as subsequent books are about completely different characters. I liked Annice and the other bards so not sure I want to read about completely other characters, especially when I have a few books on my TBR to get through. Who knows, I may just grab book 2, Fifth Quarter, and try it out.


That is it for me this week. Nice and short, just like February! Enjoy whatever you have on the go and I look forward to sharing with you what I hope are some more great reads.

Fire Touched
Mercy Thompson 9
Ace, March 8, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages

Sing the Four Quarters
Quarters 1
JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.
eBook, August 4, 2015
Trade Paperback (Amazon), January 21, 2016

The Bards of Shkoder hold the country together. They bring the news of the sea to the mountains, news of the mountains to the plains. They give their people, from peasant to king, a song in common.

Annice is a rare talent, able to Sing all four quarters, but her brother, the newly enthroned King Theron, sees her request to study at the Bardic Hall as a betrayal. But Annice renounces her royal blood and swears to remain childless so as not to jeopardize the line of succession.

Ten years later, she’s on the run from the Royal Guards with the Duc of Ohrid, the father of her unborn child, both of them guilty of treason – one of them unjustly accused. To save the Duc’s life, they’ll have to cross the country, manage to keep from strangling each other, and defeat an enemy too damaged for even a Bard’s song to reach.

Happy New Year! I hope you are all having a great 2015 so far. I have high hopes for some fantastic reads for the new year, mainly as I have been selected as a beta reader for Michael J. Sullivan's new series  - First Empire. I am super excited already.

In the last week I have managed to read a few books. I wasn't certain that I would get much read as I have been on leave so no long commutes to give me ample reading time. So what did I read?

I finished reading Transmuted by Karina Cooper but I will be writing a full review so can't give too much away. I did find that the price of Night Broken the 8th in the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs had at last dropped to an acceptable, Kindle version amount. I loved this series at the start. Mercy ranked up there with Kate Daniels (Ilona Andrews) in my estimation as kick ass heroine. When Mercy married the 'too good to be true' Adam she has sorted wimped out and gets violently beaten up each book. Night Broken  has marginally improved my view of this series as Mercy has seemed to have re-grown her backbone, especially when Adam's ex-wife and manipulator supreme returns to town with a malevolent god-stalker in pursuit. It's up to Mercy to overcome her dislike of the woman who can still wrap Adam and the rest of the pack around her very human pinky to save the day.

I thought this instalment was quite different from the others. Firstly, Mercy - the coyote shapeshifter doesn't shift once. This has always been a focus of previous novels and even with her werewolf pack the shapeshifting takes a back seat. A number of characters from previous books also pop up in the story either as background, in conversation or are part of the plot. I thought it was a good 'melange' of supernatural characters including the werewolves (of course), the Coyote, fae, vampires and other gods and monsters. Overall, a good read but Mercy's boobs are WAY too big in this cover! She looks more like Lara Croft than the mechanic, coyote shifter Mercy Thompson.

I then discovered that the next book in the Seven series by Dannika Dark  - Four Days had been released. After the previous book Five Weeks I didn't think I was going to continue the series but I thought I would give it another go. This time the love story focused on Ivy and Lorenzo Church. Ivy had been basically traded off by her father and had been enjoying living with her new pack until the big baddy from her previous life shows up. A chain of ridiculous events lead Ivy to end up living with the macho Church where he violent and abusive past is discovered. I am not sure how Dark is going to get her lead characters to fall in love in less time than 4 days. It gives the phrase  - whirlwind romance - a whole new meaning. Bad guys, deep dark secrets and hot and steamy are the themes of this urban fantasy.

My final book for this week was A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious by Mary Wine. I found this book on my Amazon recommendations and I read a number of positive reviews about it. It was sufficiently steampunky that I thought I would be sure to like it. Well....lets just say by 75% into the book I gave up and read the last page. The story is set in what sounded like the late 1800s in England where who you were and how you acted in polite society was paramount. When the young aristo Janette finds herself caught between 2 warring factions of .....well that is it....I was never sure what they were but it had something to do with crystals. Needless to say there is a young man involved who gets Janette's corset all a quiver. Had she spent as much time thinking of her personal safety as she did about the hunky Darius then it might have been a better book!

That is all for me for this week. I have a few books to clear off my TBR in these early months of 2015 so until next week, Happy Reading.

The Lurking Fear

The Lurking Fear

Cover A

With the loyalty of the pack in doubt Mercy's headed back home to the one man she's sure she can trust...and to a town that drove her out years ago. Will Mercy find the help she needs...or will old enemies make this trip her last?  Dynamite Entertainment

 

 

Wildstorm

 

Victorian Undead II: Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula #2