Guild Assassin - Review

Title: Guild Assassin

Author:  Berley Kerr

Series:   Curse Breaker #1

Synopsis:  “Wendy Magdalena Braca lived in a Victorian mansion under three moons in Jupiter City. But her privileged upbringing falters when after the death of her father and the murder of her mother, she is shipped away to Greenleaf Asylum for Troubled Girls and lived there for years until she is “rescued” by a strange guild that shows Wendy their world; the world of Guild Assassins made up of the Cæcus (normal humans), the Validus (magic-users), and Half-Breeds (demi-gods). In this world, Wendy discovers she is the most special and powerful Validus known to exist, the Curse Breaker.”

Review:  This novel lacked depth.  I couldn’t even force myself to finish it.  I try to finish every novel that I start to read, especially if I am going to be reviewing it.  However in extreme circumstances, if I have reached the halfway mark and find myself wondering why I am torturing myself, I’m allowed to stop.  The premise of this novel sounds great.  I read the synopsis and was excited to begin reading.  Two pages in I knew I had made a mistake.  Guild Assassin reads as if it is a rough draft.  It is written almost entirely in passive voice and there is no depth to it at all.  The characters are one-dimensional, and I developed no feelings for them.  I could care less what was happening to Wendy.  The ideas behind the poor writing have great potential.  With some major editing this could be a wonderful novel.

**I was provided a free copy of this novel by Curiosity Quills Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**

Publisher:   Curiosity Quills Press

If you’re looking for good steampunk skip this one and try these instead:

Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine  (read BookGirlR’s review here)

The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt  (read BookGirlR’s review here)

Accession - Review

Title: Accession
Author: Terah Edun
Series: Serath Web #1

Synopsis: “Sixteen-year-old Katherine Thompson wasn’t trained to rule a coven. That was her sister – perfect, beautiful Rose. But when a mysterious plane crash kills off the heir presumptive of the Sandersville coven she has no choice.
 “After stepping in to fill her sister’s shoes, Katherine realizes she didn’t have a clue – faery wars, depressed trolls and angry unicorns are just the beginning.
 “For centuries, her family has served the high Queens on both sides of the Atlantic but it is a well-known rule that mid-level witches stay away from high-level Queens.
 “But when Katherine’s youngest cousin vanishes without a trace in the Atlanta court and no one wants to investigate, Katherine decides to step into the darkness on her own. She will soon discover that nothing, especially in a queen's court, is as it seems.”



Review: I have no idea how I managed to read this whole novel. Was it strength of will? Was it great determination? Or was I punishing myself for something? I really have no idea. When you learn to write creative pieces in grade school you are taught to show, not tell. Based on this novel I would say that perhaps the author was absent the days they went over that in class. This novel could have used an editor or two, it's full of mistakes. For example: “Katherine narrowed her eyes. She didn’t want to debate lineage with her mother now. Although she was very much aware that the queen’s mother and her sister’s mother were different individuals. It was why the younger sister was Queen of Sandersville and the older one was not.” (ch. 25 Loc. 2907) There is so much wrong here. It’s all telling, no showing. This is an info dump (a lot of info crammed into a short narration), and there is a sentence fragment in there. The line that starts with although needs more. Although they were different individuals they had a lot in common? Although they were different individuals they were still very much the same? Although they were different individuals what? Finish the thought please! The entire novel is full of mistakes like this and then it doesn’t end. That’s right; the novel just abruptly cuts off. Each novel in a series should have its own plot that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Even if there is a larger storyline that continues into the next novel the current one must have some sort of fulfillment or your reader will feel cheated and be ticked off. Accession does not have a plot that ends (I really had trouble finding any type of plot at all). There is no ending.  And as a reader I do feel cheated and ticked off. At this point I don’t really care, but I would like to ask the author what exactly the plot was because I couldn’t find it. Don’t read this one, you’ll regret it like I do.
 **I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review via NetGalley.**

Publisher: All Night Reads

Skip this book and try one of these instead:

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff

Kéthani - Review

Title: Kéthani

Author: Eric Brown

Synopsis: “When a mysterious alien race known as the Kéthani make contact with the people of Earth they bring with them the dubious gift of eternal life. These enigmatic aliens will change the course of the human race forever but also touch people’s live on a personal level, not least in a small town in the English countryside. But do the Kéthani have a hidden agenda and will the human race choose to evolve or turn in on itself in the face of this momentous revelation?”

Review: **Spoiler Alert** Science Fiction is my favorite genre. It’s also the genre about which I’m the pickiest. I really enjoyed Brown’s previous novel Helix. I was disappointed with Kéthani. Part of this is my fault. I thought that it was going to be an aliens-take-over-the-Earth horror/science fiction novel. It’s not. This novel is about everyone learning to live in peace and harmony and the implications of immortality. Can you say boring? The second cause of disappointment (this is the one that is not my fault) is the constantly switching points of view. Similar to the horrible book I read yesterday, Ex-heroes, Kéthani is written in part first person and part third person points of view, and the first person sections are not always in the head of the same person. It’s head-hopping and I hate it! If an author is going to write in first person they need to pick a character’s head to be in and stay there! This is another book to avoid if you can.

Publisher: Solaris
ISBN: 978-1844167128

Skip this book and read one of these instead:



Helix by Eric Brown (ISBN: 978-1844164721)



Beholder’s Eye by Julie E. Czerneda (ISBN: 978-0886778187)

Ex-Heroes - Review

Title: Ex-Heroes

Author: Peter Cline

Synopsis: “Stealth. Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap. The Mighty Dragon. They were heroes. Vigilantes. Crusaders for justice, using their superhuman abilities to make Los Angeles a better place.
“Then the plague of living death spread around the globe. Despite the best efforts of the superheroes, the police, and the military, the hungry corpses rose up and overwhelmed the country. The population was decimated, heroes fell, and the city of angel was left a desolate zombie wasteland like so many others.
“Now, a year later, the Mighty Dragon and his companions must overcome their differences and recover from their own scars to protect the thousands of survivors sheltered in their film studio-turned-fortress, the Mount. The heroes lead teams out to scavenge supplies, keep the peace within the walls of their home, and try to be the symbols the survivors so desperately need.
“For while the ex-humans walk the streets night and day, they are not the only threat left in the world, and the people of the Mount are not the only survivors left in Los Angeles. Across the city, another group has grown and gained power.
“And they are not heroes.”

Review: Superheroes and zombies together in one novel? I thought that Ex-Heroes had a combination that could not fail. Surprise. This novel was one big epic fail.
Fault number 1: Cline tries to do too much. There are too many main characters and too many plot twists. As a result the characters are one dimensional and the storyline is hard to follow. The confusing storyline leads into
Fault number 2: switching points of view. This is one of my many pet peeves. Pick a point of view and stick with it for goodness sake! Cline switches back and forth between first and third person points of view constantly and the first person chapters are never about the same character and he doesn’t tell you who it is for at least a page.
Fault number 3: Cline switches between “then” and “now” frequently. This would not be a problem, as he nicely labels each chapter, if it were not for the already prevalent confusion.
I almost gave up reading Ex-Heroes halfway through, but decided to stick it out in the hopes that it would get better. It didn’t. I think that I tend to be overly optimistic when it comes to books as they rarely let me down. I don’t recommend this novel. Don’t let the waste of my time be meaningless. Read something else!

Publisher: Permuted Press
ISBN: 978-1934861288

Don’t read this book. Try one of these instead:



Feed by Mira Grant (ISBN: 978-0316081054)
See my review of Feed here.



Monster Island by David Wellington (ISBN: 978-1560258506)
See my review of Monster Island here.