Alyce Caswell - Author - Book Reviews

Alyce Caswell - Author

A Whole Lot of Baggage

18/5/2021

The Polly Principle (Laws of Love #2)
by Davina Stone

Polly does casual. She doesn't do love and commitment, but she is very good at shepherding her friends in that direction. So when a steamy one-night stand turns out to be her new colleague, things are definitely NOT going to get messy...right?

Whew, the heat level in this one - Solo is a tall drink of water, that's for sure. Family can be a tricky thing and Stone navigated that quite well. I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book, maybe because I felt that Polly was a touch too nasty towards the end there (even if she does have issues). But Solo...well, I just loved him. He can ride back to Sydney whenever he wants.

One thing that rubbed me the wrong way... lately I've seen a worrying trend in contemporary romance novels where an asexual (or asexuality) is conflated with being boring/dull. An ace character in a subplot here is presented as "boring". Can we stop doing this please?

Murderbot 101

17/5/2021

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1)
by Martha Wells

Murderbot is a SecUnit provided by the Company to a group of scientists who are about to discover that they should be worried about more than just the native wildlife. Murderbot would rather indulge in TV shows than actually do the job, but these are its humans (even if they are weird) and this is a situation that calls for a bot with murder in its past.

I had an inkling I would love this. I just didn't realise how much! There are some stories you think "oh, this really should have been a short story or a novel instead", but this one fits the novella length perfectly. Murderbot is ridiculously relatable and you can't help but love this secondhand unit, dark past and all. I could go on and on about this novella, but I think it's best if I buy the rest and go on and on about those...

Attack of the Fanfic

17/5/2021

Down with this Ship by Katie Kingman

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kole Miller spends every possible minute writing for her fan fiction blog, Spacer - aka fixing the mistakes made by the writers of her fave show The Space Game. But then, to her horror, other students in her Creative Writing class find out that she's the one behind the blog. They threaten to reveal her identity unless she does several things for them - and that includes writing a ship she doesn't love into her story.

I really thought I would love this. I am a real fiend for books about fandom and fanfic. I've read a lot of them - which is probably why I was disappointed with this one. Much of what happens in Down with this Ship has been done before and done better. It also reminded me quite strongly of the stories I've read on Wattpad - sooo many boys wanting to go to the dance with the lead, too many "and then they all clapped" moments, cardboard cutouts instead of characters (also what happened to the Journalism teacher?? She just disappeared??), and really squiffy logic.

I know I'm from an older fanfic era, but I still dabble in fandom (as a lurker only these days!). A lot of things just didn't match my experiences. And that was very jarring. Posting fanfic on a blog was a really odd choice for Kole (something like AO3 is more likely). But the one thing that really stuck out - show (and book) writers do NOT read fan fiction (for legal reasons).

Ugh. I don't know. Maybe these things don't or shouldn't matter. But they do to me. This all said, I think quite a few Wattpadders would enjoy it.

If you liked the premise of this book, here are my top 3 recs:
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Welcome to Brisneyland

2/5/2021

Restoration (Verity Fassbinder #3)
by Angela Slatter

Verity Fassbinder is now working for an angel who is burnt, broken, and clearly mad. He's sent her looking for a grail and a tyrant, a task that endangers her and everyone around her. And it doesn't help that Verity is surrounded by people she can't trust - or people she can trust to kill her.

I am astounded that I've never heard of these books before, because Australian urban fantasy is my jam. Thank you, random bargain box. I had a lot of fun reading Verity's adventures - she is exactly my kind of sassy heroine (bonus inheritance in the shape of a magical sword). And I definitely FEEL her problems with pregnancy changing her tastebuds. So I'm probably going to have to read the first two books in the trilogy now (alas, just a trilogy? there's enough here for a 10-book series, surely??). I'm not sure how this book stacks up against them, but it's pretty great on its own.

Which Witch

25/4/2021

Sanctuary by V. V. James

The most popular boy in Sanctuary falls down the stairs at a party and dies - right before the house explodes into flames. In an ordinary world, this might have been an accident. But in this world, there are witches. A witch's daughter was there that night. And she has motive - it's her ex-boyfriend that's dead. The community of Sanctuary is about to unravel.

Wow, this was unexpectedly great (it was one of those "bargain box" books I received last year!). I couldn't read it fast enough. Sanctuary feels like a mashup of Practical Magic (movie, not the book) and Broadchurch - or is Gracepoint more apt, given the American setting? The book's thin on world-building, but it's not that kind of story. What it's great at doing is letting magic just... be there. Part of the community and part of the plot. It really works.

I seriously thought I was going to give this five stars... but it was let down somewhat by parts of the ending. Still, a pretty decent read. I think Sanctuary would make a fantastic miniseries.

Starflight, Not So Bright

21/4/2021

Starfall (Starflight #2)
by Melissa Landers

Cassia is dragged back to her homeworld by bounty hunters, but she doesn't need the crew of the Banshee - or Kane, especially Kane - to bail her out. She becomes queen before they even show up. But taking over a world is easy. Ruling its people (arrogant nobles and seditious anti-monarchists!) and dealing with the mafia? Not so much.

I really did not enjoy this. Cassia and Kane were so unlikeable that I just couldn't become wholly invested in them or their... I suppose you could call it a romance. Cassia's side of things was actually quite interesting, but Kane was sidelined for a chunk of the story and he didn't get to add much to the plot. What was the point of him being on Adel Vice? I have no idea. And the crew camaraderie that I liked in the previous book was completely missing. A disappointing sequel.

Starflight, Starbright

19/4/2021

Starflight (Starflight #1)
by Melissa Landers

Solara is desperate to start her new life on Vega, but in order to get there she must travel as a servant for Doran, the most infuriating and rude rich guy ever. He even tries to strand her! But after he loses his memories, Solara convinces him that he is her servant - right before they board a new ship with new problems and are thrown into an adventure neither of them could expect.

This was pretty fun, even if it was somewhat superficial and didn't really stack up against other sci-fi YA titles I've read since (and before) its publication. I can't remember any particular moments that stick out to me, to be honest. It had a very "been there, done that" feel to it. But hey, if you want something light (and there are times for that), then Starflight fits the bill.

A Book of Flames and Fae

17/4/2021

A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses #4)
by Sarah J. Maas

Nesta Acheron was Made into a High Fae against her will and has fallen into darkness. Cassian has been charged with her training, less a punishment and more an attempt to save her. But Nesta doesn't want to be saved - and nor does she want to search for the Dread Trove. The Cauldron has already taken too much from her. What more will it take if she scries again?

I have to be honest. I'm not a real fan and I delight in discovering the problems in Sarah J. Maas' work. But somewhere along the way, I had to admit to myself that the books are flawed but fun. I think I enjoyed this one a bit more because Nesta is far more interesting to me than Feyre ever was (the usual blueprint for a Maas heroine is just arghhh...). My favourite character, however, is definitely the house!

I liked the slower pace in A Court of Silver Flames, though it did cause everything to feel a bit rushed at the end. And I wasn't terribly keen on what happened with Nesta - mostly because she was overpowered and Maas chose the easy solution for that.

All a Flutter

11/4/2021

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Wren has a lot of things on her mind already. She doesn't need a winged assassin trying to kill her - but she does need a rescue, courtesy of Ezal, who has just jumped in from another dimension. Originally sent to Earth as a baby, Wren has become the heir of House Banae and with this positions comes new dangers. Now she is expected to either abdicate or marry a suitable husband, one who must overlook her lack of wings. But Ezal might complicate matters...

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I adored this book. I was sucked in so easily and I was Team Ezal from the start! The world-building was fantastic - Letharia is a world of wings and magic, as well as a world of science and string theory. A perfect, fascinating blend. It was as difficult for me to leave Letharia as it was for Wren.

Fans of Sarah J. Maas will absolutely love this winged romance.

Frae Orkney Down to Sinclair

6/4/2021

Highland Warrior (Sons of Sinclair #2)
by Heather McCollum

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Joshua Sinclair was transformed into the Horseman of War by his father, but his warring has left him with too many scars. He intends to travel home after training the men belonging to Robert Stuart, one of the king's illegitimate relatives and the man in charge of Orkney. Kara has seen her people crushed beneath a Stuart's heel. But the only way to seek revenge is in convincing Joshua to stay and train her people. A little seduction might be involved...

I absolutely loved this! I knew I would right from the start. Orkney is one of my favourite places and I do miss it, so I was thrilled to see it as a setting here. Kara and Joshua's introduction is so playful, energetic - and dare I say it, seductive. I've rarely fallen this hard for a pairing. McCollum continues to provide the action I crave alongside my romance and I stayed up far later than I should have in my desire to finish this book. I highly recommend it.