Speed-Reading Book Nerd Reviews

When Sorrows Come

By Seanan McGuire.

Previous book here. Review goes behind the spoiler cut. Four stars.

The Queen Will Betray You

By Sarah Henning.

Previous book here. 

Well, this is a dizzying book! Our big romance of Ama and Luca are kept apart for almost all of the book (sigh), as he and his team go to confront the Warlord and Ama ends up dealing with her betraying family/supposed allies in her own kingdom locking her up. The one ally she has...of sorts....is Prince Tallifer, who continues to be interesting/confusing/ambiguously evil and what do I make of him? Heck if I know.

There's a ton of female scheming in this one. We're told that one male ruler's been scheming to plant people throughout the other kingdoms who will commit murders and then take over, but then his supposed people turn on him to. Dowager Queen Ines in particular has a spectacular wedding that will definitely remind you of another famous one, let's put it that way. There's also a lot of Warlord issues, as we find out that it's kinda ah. Dread Pirate Roberts-y when it comes to that job. I admit that I enjoy seeing what this author's doing with the various tropes (especially the one that reminded me of The Three Amigos/Spartacus and other similar moments). More like "all queens will betray you" in this one, so watch out! 

We do find out more about the deceased King Sendoa's choices in the past and why he did what he did--how he always has a plan, but when other people go awry about it....

Anyway, it was an interesting read and I enjoyed all the double-crossing and whatnot. I don't know how emotionally engaged I am with any of it, though? (Which is to say, our lovebirds are still separate and hell, they spend more time with others.) I guess I'm giving it 3.5 stars overall.

Under the Never Sky

By Veronica Rossi.

I picked this up out of a Little Free Library. Then the next day, I went out to go meet up with a friend I haven't seen much since pandemic started. At the last minute I remembered "oh yeah, she runs hella late, better grab a book," which I did, and it was this one. Then friend proceeded to be an hour late, so I started reading this book. And I was utterly confused at the start of the book and wished I'd grabbed another one, and thought, "if I'd bothered to thumb through this at the Little Free Library, I would have put it back." But since I had nothing else to do, I kept going. And it got better, though I think I'm probably still lost on some points.

My approximation of understanding of the background of this: it's an apocalypse world, and some folks are living underground(?) in pods(?) with a lot of virtual reality and genetic engineering and whatnot going on. And some other folks are still living on the apocalypse-y surface, in tribes in the wilderness, where some folks have evolved super-senses--super hearing, super sight, smelling people's emotions (temper), etc. I admit this is what I found confusing and I could have used some Basil Exposition to explain what was going on to me. It's one of those books where Things are Named and Mentioned in Capital Letters a lot like you know what they're referring to.

The book jointly features Aria, one of the pod dwelling/virtual reality dwellers, whose scientist mom Lumina has gone to another pod(?). While her mother's gone, Aria gets into some kind of weird trouble in which some of her friends end up dead and a powerful guy ends up kicking her out of the pod into the real world. While out there, she meets Peregrine, an Outsider from a tribe whose nephew, Talon, has been abducted by the pod people. Perry is a taciturn guy with super sight and super smell (a rare combo). I'll note that Aria's mom seems to have genetically engineered her to be a singer, as well. And her mother left her a message she never got to read before getting kicked out. So the two team up together to try to find her mother/his nephew, more or less, meet some enemies and friends, and meet some former pod people who are helping out the locals in a lovely place.

Look, the plot kinda confused me, all right? But I rather liked Aria, and even Perry after awhile once he starts to get less stoic. (Of course, it's a romance.) Some of the concepts are interesting, if confusing, to me. Lumina turns out to have been studying Outsiders because they haven't had the mental degeneration of poddwellers, and the revelations related to that are intriguing. But also....like I said, coulda used more exposition, please. 

So, it has good potential, but I was somewhat lost reading it. Maybe others don't have that problem though? I'm giving it three stars. 

The Assassins of Thasalon

By Lois McMaster Bujold.

Previous book here.

The book kicks off with someone trying to assassinate Adelis (in case you didn't guess from the title), but in an unusual way--with a chaos demon. Penric fends the attempt off and finds out that the assassin, Alixtra, has been forced into the role after her child's been kidnapped. An evil sorcerer in Thasalon and the evil minister who had Adelis blinded set up a scheme to implant her with animal-demons and use them to murder--if you use a demon to murder someone, it's removed from you. But when a saint is called in to remove Alixtra's latest demon, the Bastard, being a god of good judgment, is all "Let her keep it!" 

So Penric, Alixtra, and Iroki the saint head off to Thasalon to deal with Tronio, the evil sorcerer. Someone's already dealt with evil Minister Methari (heh heh heh) for them, but when Lady Tanar's dedicated servant Bosha is arrested for the crime, they have to get him out of there, and of course track down the bad guy.

Overall I enjoyed this one. The whole Alixtra plot is interesting, and I enjoyed finally getting some resolution/reunion between Adelis and Tanar. The Bastard's not in it much, but when he briefly is, it's great. I liked having a longer story in this world as well. Four stars. 

The Physicians of Vilnoc

By Lois McMaster Bujold.

Previous book here.

It's a year or so later, Penric has a baby, and oh yeah, there's a plague in town that his brother-in-law calls him in to deal with. Nobody knows how anyone's coming down with 'bruising fever," the main doctor in town just died, and Penric's forced to practice his medical skills, daily, like it or not, with few resources at his disposal. 

That's essentially the plot--the fear, the stress, the constant slaughter of animals to fuel "uphill" magic, which Pen's not even sure is working, and it's stressful as hell. Especially reading it during a pandemic, which partly made me go "You felt like writing THIS in 2020?" and yet, well, 2020. I did, however, appreciate the inventiveness of how the solution (hey, at least there WAS one) came about, and how the Bastard is subtle yet not, and how Penric's offscreen befriending of a Romani-equivalent pregnant girl that's not even IN the plot ties into things. So, in all, a good read. Four stars. 

The Orphans of Raspay

By Lois McMaster Bujold.

Previous book here. 

It's a few years since the last book, Penric got married to Nikys off-camera*, he was on a boat, and got captured by pirates. He also ends up befriending two orphan/bastard Jokonian girls (Lencia and Seuka), who thankfully were raised by a secret Quintarian mom so they're not totally freaked at Penric turning out to be a sorcerer. Penric has quite a challenge getting out of being sold into slavery, preventing himself and the girls from being sold into sex slavery, trying to get out, trying to get a boat, setting fires.... Penric finds himself cussing a lot in this book, and Des has some fun with fires. It's a rollicking ride and Penric finds himself dedicating his day to the Bastard again.

• I do wonder what is with the choices that the author makes to tell some scenes from Penric's life and then skips things like his medical career or his getting married.

I did enjoy that when Penric's brother-in-law comes to the rescue, he mentions someone paying a lot of money..."that's what they're paying us to not leave you here." HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH. I'm also amused that Pen sealed up a chest at the beginning of the book and throws it overboard, hoping it somehow makes its way back to him, but it somehow makes it to his wife. And how he hits it off with the girls, who Des likes. Even Adelis wonders if the girls are god-touched given their varying luck and finding Penric. It's an adventurous, sweet story. Four stars. 

The Prisoner of Limnos

By Lois McMaster Bujold:

Previous book here.

In the continuing tale of "Penric Meets A Lady," Nikys's mother gets kidnapped and stuck into an island prison, which she's warned about by Lady Tamar, a onetime possible wife for Nikys's brother Adelis. (I'll note that Tamar seems fond enough of Adelis and it might happen even though it's been a few years, he nearly got blinded and has new employment, but also has feelings for Bosha, the family eunuch/servant she's known since childhood. It's mutual. Good luck with that one.) Anyway, Nikys of course asks Penric for help, and they go to Lady Tamar's and come up with a rescue plan that involves Penric in drag again (no, not as Mira....) and substituting himself for Nikys' mom in the prison cell,  and then uh, winging it once he's caught, I guess. He didn't plan that part out so much, but it turns out that Nikys has an older half-brother Ikos who's an engineer who comes up with a rescue plan involving ah, interesting technology that freaks Desdemona out.

Anyway, what's cool about this? Lady Tamar, her mother Xarre, and Bosha. They're nice, rich, kind and smart people. I'd like to see more of them, please. There was one snarky comment about how Tamar could brew poisons and Bosha (very dedicated to keeping the family safe, has poisoned knives everywhere) could murder the customers and they'd be quite happy, hahahah. Not sure how that would go if she marries Adelis, but I think overall nobody would mind too much? You kind of root for it just to keep them in the family. 

I'm not sure what to make of Ikos, but he was certainly handy here. I did like Idrene (Nikys's mom) and her enlightened attitudes. 

And I will note that people point out that Penric is unusual, and smart, and hot, and why don't you get together with him again? Nikys still feels a little weird about well, literally never being left alone with Penric and how she's supposed to relate to Desdemona--another wife? older sister? Whatever you like, Des says. In the end, it sounds like they'll work that out.

Overall, it was very sweet. Four stars. 

Capture the Crown

By Jennifer Estep.

Previous book here.

This book takes place in the same world as the Crown of Shards trilogy, except in different countries and 16 years later. Gemma, the Andvari princess that survived the original massacre, is the narrator now, and she's all grown up now. In public she comes off as "Princess Glitzma" and all bimbo-socialite, but in reality she's a spy who's trained in mining(!) and jewelrymaking (okay, that one makes more sense) for that sort of thing. She's currently working in a mine trying to investigate tearstone thievery, when she runs into Leo, the Mortan prince from the last book. He's also all grown up and so far has managed to survive. Gemma remembers him being involved in her brief capture post-massacre (of course it's in a way when he was trying to save her, got caught and then turned her over) and is snitty, but at the same time super attracted to him and can't explain why she reaches out to save his life. He saves hers in turn, and ends up taking her home to the Mortan palace to get healed. Gemma can't resist continuing to spy there, though you may reasonably wonder how a noble from another country would be totally incognito there with nothing but a slight dye job.

I really enjoy the characters in this one. Gemma has different skills going on, but is still a badass. She and Leo have such chemistry, it's really hot. Gemma befriends another spy from another country, who is also badass. I loved Leo's sister Delmira, a total sweetheart (how is she a sweetheart in Morta?!) with mysterious powers that seem weak, but connect to plants. I enjoyed how Gemma and Leo's respective "pets" also form an accord. Maeven is suspiciously intriguing in this book and you really wonder what's going on with her and if she's as awful as she's been in the past. And the palace is covered in liladorn, which is a sentient and benevolent plant that I loved. More liladorn, please. I'd love to take some home and plant it. 

Anyway, this is a great rip-roaring start to a new trilogy! Four and a half stars. 

 

Mira's Last Dance

By Lois McMaster Bujold.

Previous book here.

In the direct sequel to Penric's Mission, Penric and his on-the-run charges are still trying to flee the country and find new employment for the general. This gets entirely interesting when the idea comes up that Penric allow the personality of one of Desdemona's previous riders, Mira, to run the show as a disguise. Penric is already a blonde pretty boy as is, so it's pretty easy to doll him up as a hottie foreign female courtesan traveling with her entourage. Mira seems to be having a pretty good time of it as well. And we'll all wonder how the heck Penric/Mira managed to give a guy a good enough time without touching him/getting caught enough to bring on a marriage proposal, hubba hubba!

This, however, gives Nikys some pause, in the "what the heck am I DEALING WITH with this guy?!" sort of way. Who's the real Penric? How do you deal with him and all of his in-house lady friends? So by the end when Penric tries proposing (eventual, I guess?) marriage to her, she isn't interested in getting involved with someone who presumably has more adventure going on in his life than she'd like in hers. Poor Penric.

I'm not sure if I root for this as a relationship or not? Nikys is a nice girl and all, but I dunno if I think she and Penric are exactly MFEO either. 

But overall, the plot of this one is quite intriguing and fun, so four stars. 

Penric's Mission

By Lois McMaster Bujold.

Previous book here. 

Now here's where it gets good.

So far this series has been pleasant enough, but not particularly gripping. (You'll note that as a speed reader, I'm kind of slowly getting around to reading the series.) Nothing I wouldn't not recommend, but it hasn't been particularly addictive.

Well, HERE WE GOT PLOT, Y'ALL. 

Penric's been recruited to go in disguise to deliver an honest response to a fake letter--yeah, this confuses me too, it's a job offer thing--in another nation. This goes terribly wrong, as he's captured right off the bat, thrown in a hole, and oh yeah, he ends up having to trepan himself so as to not die. GOOD GOD. Penric was supposed to be helping this poor general (Arisaydia, nicknamed Adelis by his sister) who's being framed, but he's too busy being down a hole and trying to not die for awhile. Meanwhile, the poor general's taken prisoner and finally released....after they poured boiling vinegar in his eyes to blind him. OUCH.

By the time Penric finally saves himself--they try to drown him and he basically makes a giant ice cube to float out, hahahah-- he ends up offering his medical services to the general, and realizing that he could actually work on saving the guy's sight with his medical skills. So he ends up caring for and then going on the run with the general and his sister, NIkys, who he's' attracted to. Penric's attempting to recruit the general to go work for the duke he's currently "working"(?) for as a way of getting out of this country that's betrayed him, but the general would rather go elsewhere. The situation's not resolved by the end of this book, so we'll see where they go. Literally.

Good moments in this:

• Penric's prayer to the Bastard after a real shitty day: "Master of all disasters out of season, I lay this day as an offering upon your altar. If it please you, take it from me." Hah. 
• Adelis and Nikys are half-siblings and honorary twins--A's parents couldn't conceive, so they got a concubine and somehow both ladies got knocked up and delivered on the same day. It sounds like it was a happy polyamorous relationship for all parents, which sounds very sweet.
• Desdemona being all" Awwww, what a cute little demon!" when another sorcerer is recruited to go after Penric and the demon is a complete newbie. I mean this literally. 
• Penric gets attacked by the other sorcerer and after scolding him for what he's done, insists on giving the guy's demon a name. Har. 
• Penric finally explains what happened when he was a working medical professional--they saved all the hard cases for him, he had several deaths a week, and he was literally suicidal over the job, which is awkward when you have a demon who needs you not to do that. OUCH. 

Anyway, I feel like this book really rather leveled up for this series? More interesting consequences and stakes and real life scary stuff going on, hoo boy. So, four and a half stars.