Wit & Travesty

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Book Review: False River

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book cover false river by h. g. reedHey, Leute!

I know it’s been a while since we’ve done a book review, but we’ve got a line up of great book recommendations for you this month! Today we’re gushing about False River by H.G. Reed which just came out three weeks ago. The book just recently came out, so show it some love and let us know in the comment section or via social media if you have any thoughts about False River. Remember: the quickest way to a writer’s heart is to review and share their work. Enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:

After a decade, the devil has come again for Joe—to make yet another deal. In exchange for his already lost soul, Joe must do the unthinkable in an unreasonably short amount of time. With the devil dancing on his back, Joe finds himself soon surrounded by angelic farmhands with the intent to give him and his orchard a fighting chance.

Joe must learn to trust his new farmhands quickly if he has any hopes of leading a peaceful life with his wife and daughter in the wooded peaks of the North Georgia Mountains. Will Joe have the strength to resist past transgressions, or will he remain forever a shell of a man?

What I enjoyed:

Reed does a great job creating wonderful characters and charming dialog. Those two things can make or break a novel for me, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

Reed had the task of making Joe an average man but equally special so we would understand why the devil won’t leave him alone. I recognized this as a potential of creating a “chosen one” trope but she navigates this well. Joe continues to learn about his importance in his past history with the devil, but realizes that he’s still a normal man and wants more than anything to be normal. He’s easy to sympathize with and truly has a lot of heart—for someone who’s been without a soul for a decade.

Ellie May was also well executed. In Reed’s Christian-fantasy canon, her devil is actually female with a teenage girl’s form. Her dialog, character ticks, and overall personality made for an interesting adversary that will really make you rethink the villain or devil trope. Reed does a good job of making her scary as hell (pun intended) but also making her a sympathetic character—we tend to enjoy these kinds of villains.

Overall, I really enjoyed Reed’s use of plot. She adds onto the reader’s knowledge brick by brick to aid to the suspense and intrigue of the novel. You wouldn’t think there would be a huge showdown on a orchard in Georgia, but Reed brings it.

You’ll love the way she mixes modern Christian theology with her own interpretations and additions. I won’t say more on that, because I don’t want to spoil your experience.

What I didn’t enjoy:

While I enjoyed the symbolism and extended metaphors this novel had to offer about forgiveness and love, the novel featured a few repeated sermons. Throughout the novel, I noticed the writer would put emotion into words in a satisfying way, just to “tell” what just happened soon after. The author could’ve trusted that her readers would follow her meaning a bit more.

This book was an absolute delight to read and it left me feeling all warm and hopeful. I’m excited about Reed’s debut novel and I look forward to her future work. If you’d like to learn more about H.G. Reed and her work, you can catch up with her via social media:

Have you read this novel? Do you have your own thoughts about it? Share with me in the comments!

Blog Tour: Amy Braun’s Obsidian Sky

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Obsidian Sky Amy BraunHey, Leute!

Today, we’re taking part in a blog tour for Amy Braun’s recent novel, Obsidian Sky. I hope you enjoy this quick overview and review. The book just recently came out, so show it some love and let us know in the comment section or via social media if you have any thoughts about this novel or about the Dark Sky series as a whole. Enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:

The third and final novel in an epic steampunk horror series, OBSIDIAN SKY closes the dramatic adventures of Claire, Sawyer, Gemma, and Nash, digging up the final secrets of their past, bringing new allies into a dangerous fray, and drawing friends and foes into a battle where the cost may be too much to pay.

The final struggle against the Hellions has arrived. A trapped engineer and a desperate marauder scramble to fight an enemy with unspeakable power on its side. Time is running out, and one world will be destroyed.

After sacrificing herself to save the lives of her friends and family, Claire Abernathy struggles to outwit her Hellion captors. They torment and terrify her into working on a weapon with the sole purpose of obliterating the world, friends, and love she has struggled to save. If Claire has any chance of saving those she loves, she must delve deeper into the Hellion world, and witness nightmares she could never imagine.

In Westraven, Sawyer Kendric is desperate to find the woman he loves. To do so, he must finally embrace his family’s atrocious past and heal the wounds it has caused. He will be forced to make new allies, uncover secrets that change all he knows, and find the courage to lead a ragtag crew into the darkest, deadliest battle of their lives.

Claire and Sawyer fight to save their broken world in the final installment of the epic DARK SKY trilogy.

What I enjoyed:

Truth be told, this is only my second time visiting the Dark Sky series. I’ve already reviewed Braun’s novella, Amber Sky, so I got to meet Sawyer and Nash at the very beginning of their friendship. This novel is the last of the series, so there’s a lot of bonding and action that I’ve missed as a result.

Nevertheless, the novel certainly took me on a fun ride! I’m not a major fan of dystopian novels because they seem to be deeply rooted in human despair and carnage, but the steampunk and pirate feel of the series made the fight for humanity an enriching and exciting one.

From the get-go, Braun is able to ensure the reader is caught up to speed on who is who in the series and what you might’ve missed if you jumped in late like I did. I appreciated even the physical descriptions of the Hellions so I could keep up with the world building and what the baddies are up to. She was able to fill me in without slowing down the plot or rushing.

As always, I’m impressed with Braun’s knack for describing action and fighting. There’s a lot of hand-to-hand combat and dueling, and her description flow is easy to follow and creative.  The only annoyance was the over-use of certain phrases of wind rushing out of the lungs and other descriptors for pain. Since the characters often take severe blows to the head and other sensitive areas, it seemed a bit excessive that they would experience such excruciating pain and either run away or not pass out.

Without giving too much away, I would say this ending was exciting and worth the buildup and tension created throughout the novel—and I’m sure the rest of the series. You can tell Braun enjoyed writing this series and her joy and talent shine through the characters and the narrative.

Cool! So on to some other goodies—a quick excerpt and a Q&A with the author!

Obsidian Sky Amy BraunQ&A with Amy Braun

Q: Were you nervous about writing the end of Obsidian Sky? Was everything planned or were some events spontaneous?

A: I’m a meticulous planner when it comes to world building and plots, but there were some events that I hadn’t intended that were added into the final story. Certain characters and events appeared in places and scenes where I hadn’t intended them to. Characters acted in ways I hadn’t originally planned, or would have to think creatively to escape a challenge.

I had a great time experimenting and using a lot of “What If” scenarios where my characters were pushed to the limits and forced to react unconventionally. I felt like I was experiencing their adventures with them, and at some points, didn’t know what would happen next, either.

Q: How did it feel to close out a series you’ve worked on for so long?

A: It’s a mix of sadness and happiness. On one hand, I realize how much I’ll miss these characters and this world. I came up with the idea when I was fourteen years old, and now over ten years later, it’s finally over. It’s a lot to let go of. But on the other hand, I feel a great deal of closure.

Here was this crazy, random idea I had as a kid, and I finally went ahead and made it a reality. Now that it’s done with and received with better success than I could have hoped for, helped me establish my career, I’m aware that if I work hard, put in the time and effort, and do all the re-writes, I can transform any idea into a book. And if you’re an author still hesitant about such a thing, read the opening dedication to Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch. She did the same thing, and she became published. Never give up on your idea!

Q: What will you miss most about the series and the characters?

A: I’m definitely going to miss the world and the creatures in it. Writing the Hellions and Hellnore was so much fun. I’m also going to miss Claire’s inventiveness, Sawyer’s attitude, Nash’s soft-heart, and Gemma’s tendency to scream her lungs out in battle.

Q: Is there any chance of a continuation or a spin-off series in the future?

A: A reviewer actually asked me that not too long ago. While I’ll never say never to anything, at this moment, I have no plans to continue the Dark Sky books. Nash and Gemma have both already had their own spin-off prequel novellas, titled Amber Sky and Smoke Sky respectively, and if I did do another spinoff, it would likely be a prequel series. But the odds of that happening in the near future are slim, given how I want to move onto other projects.

Q: Now that the series is over, what’s next?

A: At the moment, I’m working on two brand new series. I don’t want to say much about them to avoid giving away spoilers, but the first series will be an urban fantasy involving the Greek gods, and the second project is a young adult fantasy series with gargoyles that was inspired by Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I wish I could tell you more at this point, but I can’t give you anything such as titles or release dates as both of these projects are going to be going to literary agents.

I received amazing feedback on the Greek god project from one of my favorite fantasy authors, Michael J. Sullivan, and have been diligently working to improve it. I’ll know in the next month or so whether or not it’ll be going the indie or traditional route, and my newsletter subscribers and website/social media followers will be the first to know.

The same can be said for the YA fantasy gargoyle project. I’m working on editing it and am hoping that in the next month or so I can send it to literary agents. YA fantasy is extremely popular right now, and I’m hoping that will be my “in,” but if not, I will happily take the project through independent publishing. I learned a lot last year and am ready to use that knowledge to expand my horizons and hopefully gain new readers.

At this point, the only project that will be happening will be the release of the complete Dark Sky box set in April. But anything can happen in this industry, and I doubt anything could slow me down at this point. I’m having too much fun!

If you’d like to learn more about Amy Braun and her work, you can catch up with her via social media:

Have you read this novel? Do you have your own thoughts about it? Share with me in the comments!

Book Review: Winter of the Wolf

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winter of the wolfHey, Leute!

It’s not a good month without an indie novel or two. Today I’ll be reviewing Winter of the Wolf by Christina Ochs—part of her Desolate Empire series. Check out the review below and make sure to give your two cents in the comments section if you’ve already read the book, too!

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis:

Just when you think Teodora is defeated, she manages to put her cunning and survival skills to use.  Of course, Lennart will give it everything he has to see the war to the bitter end.

Winter of the Wolf gives you insight on how each side plans to finally close the war, but as each chapter unfolds, another character thwarts the opposite side—twist after twist.

Kenndryk will do whatever he can to protect his family, which proves to come at a grave cost. Meanwhile, Gwynneth must survive Teodora’s wrath as she must balance her duties as queen and mother to her children born during war and struggle. She will watch her children mature quickly to face what the war brings them.

We also learn more about Elektra, who takes part in both sides to ultimately determine who she is, what she truly believes, and how she’ll kill her mother, the empress.

What I enjoyed:

If multiple plot twists give you life, then this book—like the rest of the series—brings its A-game. Rumors spread about who’s dead and who’s actually not dead, which leads to interesting war strategy that aids or hinders the characters. You’re the only one with all the information, so it sucks knowing that something bad has happened, and someone on the other side of the war zone has no idea what just happened. It makes the pacing very intense!

For example, there was a relatively huge twist about a quarter into the novel which made me wonder how the rest of the novel would go. Another one exploded across the 80% marker and I was anxious to see how it would be rectified with just a few chapters left. For a war novel, there’s always a new surprise for your favorite character.

As always, I’m impressed by Och’s extensive research to create a war-torn continent seem realistic. From the war itself, to the political intrigue behind the scenes, I was able to visualize the world she further establishes and feel like I had a firm grasp of the current situation and the implications of each strategy.

Also, so many things happen. Each of her novels are pretty extensive, but she’s able to pack a lot of events into one novel that creates an interesting flow. Since she juggles so many characters POV, there’s a lot for the reader to soak up about where everyone is and what might happen to them.

My Final Thoughts

Oh man, I read this novel under the impression that it was her final novel to the series. It definitely made me anxious for my few favorite characters—including Teodora, whom I just love to hate. Once I realized that it wasn’t described as the concluding novel, I calmed the heck down.

Until then, I’ll keep myself company with Och’s recent prequel, The Forsaken Crown, which focuses on Sonya, a new character to the series who befriends a younger version of Kenndryk. The novel just came out mid December of last year, so give it some love!

Winter of the Wolf, like the rest of the series, is such a treat. There is so much to read so it’s hard to binge, but it definitely keeps you engaged the whole time. As much as I wanted to rush, I had to slowly enjoy each chapter. Like eating fudge, maybe?

A friendly reminder: there are a lot of events and characters, so it does pay to read the whole series to fully enjoy this fourth addition to the series. You won’t regret it, especially if you love everything about Game of Thrones except the nudity.

If you’d like to learn more about Christina Ochs and her work, you can catch up with her via social media:

Have you read this novel? Do you have your own thoughts about it? Share with me in the comments!

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