Beyond the Empire by K. B. Wagers

4.5 Stars

The Indranan War - Book 3

I actually finished this book 2 days ago, but I've been unable to even think about putting my thoughts down until now.  And even now, I know I'm not going to do it justice.

I loved the book and the loved the series!  I just clicked with the characters.  Or they clicked with me... whatever.  *LOL*  I'm pretty sure there might be people out there who think Hail, the gunrunner empress, is too perfect, but you know what?  She's like my superhero.  Yes, she's one of the best gunrunners in the galaxy and you don't get to be that without being pretty damned good at all facets leading, fighting, learning, listening, plotting... well, you get my drift.  So Hail Bristol is basically my Batman.  :)   And you know what else?  She's not an uberly-gifted teenager, she's almost 40 years old.  Life has battered her around some. Her knowledge and abilities, while some of it is ingrained, a lot of it has also been learned and tried in a cauldron of fire.  Anyway... yes, she is my hero.

The action in this last book of the trilogy is pretty much nonstop and the surprises keep on coming as Hail, Emmory, Zin and the gang fight to regain the Indranan throne.  People die.  And sometimes they die in a most awful manner, but such is the way of war.  Even as I was cursing the author, weeping, I knew it was something that had to happen.

There are some quite times thought.  Scenes where Hail tries to come to terms with the loyalties and expectations of her people, of her found family and even of herself.  Scenes also, where she shares intimate moments with those closest to her, and we get to see the affection and love between them.  It's like... so... I've been watching the Olympic figure skating like a good Canadian, and cheering on Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir as they won their gold medal, all the while listening to all the speculation about their relationship and are they a couple or not.  So... I watch Tess and Scott and I see Hail and her Ekam, her head bodyguard, Emmory.  It's a deep connection, it's love, it's true kindred spiritness.  They're not a couple - that's Emmory and Zin, thank you very much (and how I wish we could have some stories about their adventures as Trackers.) - but they are very much together, if that makes any kind of sense.

Okay, so, yes, I loved this trilogy so so much.  It was so much fun, so much action, so much of all kinds of things I love in my books.  There's another trilogy coming in the fall and I'm really looking forward to more adventures with Hail, Em, Zin and the gang.  But don't let that deter you, this trilogy can stand alone, honest.  :)

Oh, I loved it.  So much that I went and joined the KB's Patreon. 

(And thank you again, Renzii!)

After the Crown by K.B. Wagers

4.5 Stars

The Indranan War - Book 2

Thanks to a very special and sweet person, I was able to continue right into Book 2 of this wonderful series. 

It was TERRIFIC!!!

And me, the reader who never binge-reads for various reasons, is binge-reading her way right into Book 3.  (Again, thanks to that lovely person.)

Need I say more?

Behind the Throne by K. B. Wagers

4.5 Stars

The Indranan War - Book 1

Thank you, Blair MacGregor (One of my favourite authors), thank you!  Thank you for recommending this terrific book.  I enjoyed it SO SO much.  I never binge read series - I find I overdose too easily and lose pleasure in the reading - but when I finished this book, I was ready to get the next two and read them right NOW!  But... they're a wee bit pricey and I can't be an adult and justify the expenditure.  This month.

So we have Hail, the gunrunner, who is in reality one of the Indranan Empire's royal family, and has been away from 'home' for twenty years.  The story opens when she is brought home, unwillingly, into a midst of politics and intrigue and family drama.

We have action, we have intimate emotional scenes, we have danger and spying, we have humour, we have heart-warming moments... oh, it's all there in this book.  And while the heroine, Hail, seems at times a bit too smart, a bit too clever and capable, you then remember that she's one of the most notorious gunrunners in the galaxy and has come by all those smarts and abilities quite honestly - so to speak.  *LOL*

I loved her.  I also fell for the whole darned cast of secondary characters (the book is written from Hail's POV, 1st person) and wanted to see more of them.  Especially Emmory and Zin, the Trackers who come to find Hail and bring her home and who are so much more than political bounty hunters and bodyguards.  :)

Oh, and another BTW, this society is matriarchal.  I enjoyed the way the author flipped the traditional gender roles and how that plays into the political shenanigans going on in the Empire.  The Indranan Empire is descended from space colonists from India and it's fascinating to see how the author has created a world 2500 years in the future.  I don't know a lot about Indian society, history etc... but it felt well done to me.  :)

Oh, I enjoyed this book so much.  :)  I can't wait to read the next two!!  And it looks like the author is starting a second trilogy with the same main character.  Makes me a happy camper.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Blair!  It rocked!!

Fish Stick Fridays by Rhys Ford

4 Stars

Half Moon Bay - Book 1

Bless Rhys Ford.  😊  Whenever I need a go-to book because the one I've just finished has been awful and enraged me or managed to rip my heart out and leave me with a book hangover, I know I can go to a Rhys book and sink into an adventurous love story that hits most, if not all, of my sweetspots. 

I loved the two main characters of this book right off.  Rough and tumble Deke and the more reticent and maybe even proper, Lang.  And Deke's niece, Zig, well, she's just a special creature unto herself!  And these three were exactly what I needed after the dark and dreary of the book I had just finished. 

It's Rhys, so there had to be at least one dead body.  :)  But the main thing was that Deke and Lang met, they connected and they fell in love.  I thought they complimented each other perfectly and their banter... Oh, Rhys was definitely 'on' when she wrote this one.  I laughed out loud on more than one occasion.  But there is darkness.  After all, Deke and Zig have had pretty shitty lives up until they arrive in Half Moon Bay. 

So, Rhys does what Rhys does and soothes my mind with a terrific romance and I'm very pleased that I still have a few unread Rhys novels in my TBR.  😎

The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark

2.5 Stars

Empires of Dust - Book 1

This book was so damned dark and bleak...  Grimdark?  Oh my GAWD, it was freaking grim and dark to the nth degree!

Now I have no problem with grimdark fantasy.  I like characters with flaws and who aren't goodie-goodies.  This post on Fantasy Hive by Cameron Johnston, published just yesterday, reflects many of my own thoughts on the genre.  Needless to say, I don't believe that The Court of Broken Knives succeeds in any of it. There is nothing of hope, of love, of humour, or of anything other than death, blood, violence, sadness and hate.  Nothing redeeming at all!  I couldn't help but think that the author must have a couple of hundred tons of demons to work out on the page. 

Now, the writing is a bit different, it's somewhat odd.  For instance, there are a couple of 1st person POV chapters thrown into the 60 chapters of the book.  Why?  I'm not sure, but it didn't bother me.  It must have worked on whatever level the author was hoping it would.  And that's just one instance of something 'different' in the writing style.  I appreciated the difference though.  Wasn't a problem one bit. In fact it's one of the reasons I was able to finish the book, I think.  That, and the fact that it was a Christmas present and I always want to finish those.

But the characters... OMG... the characters.... not a single one left standing that I cared for.  And all the ones I thought I might get to like... eviscerated, burned up, squished, beheaded... you name it... 

So in the end... far too dark and irredeemable for me.  Depressing.  Not a story that enthralled me - it more appalled me. 

Not a fan.