Alyce Caswell - Author - Book Reviews

Alyce Caswell - Author

Love in the time of 'Rona

6/12/2021

Love in Lockdown by Chloe James

Sophia has lost the life she thought she would have and now she has all of lockdown to think about it. Jack was a carefree spirit in Greece, a bartender living the high life, but now he is stuck inside and down to his last packets of crisps. He lives above Sophia and has never met her. Now, with them both on their balconies so often, here is a chance to connect - even though they can't see each other.

Pandemic fiction is like crack to me. Of course I was going to read this! I had to wait a bit, largely due to writing my own 'rona romance and not wanting to "cross the streams" as it were. Was the wait worth it? Yes! What a charming book - and for me, it echoed the slower-paced romances of centuries past. I loved meeting each new neighbour in the community. I really felt like I was one of them. A very enjoyable read.

Weyrd Times in Brisbane

29/11/2021

Vigil (Verity Fassbinder #1)
by Angela Slatter

Part Normal and part Weyrd, Verity Fassbinder can access two worlds in the same city - and she needs to, in her line of work. Sirens are falling out of the sky. Human children are going missing. Verity is run off her feet helping the police and the Weyrd community. Maybe everything is all connected, but that doesn't make her job any easier. It's also probably not a good time to start seeing someone new...

I found this trilogy through the last book and I wish I'd been able to start with the first instalment. I really enjoyed this. Urban fantasy is one of my great loves and Vigil delivers. It also delivers a setting that's familiar to me (even if it's not quite the Brisbane I know!). The romance is more realistic than most books of the genre - David is the kind of guy that actually exists. Slatter created something fascinating and wonderful in these books. It's such a shame that there's only three of them. Seems to me it was a sales issue only, because the quality is definitely there.

I should have heard about these books when they first appeared. I'm an Urban Fantasy hound with a penchant for Australian content, so I'm an easy target. If I didn't hear about it, something went wrong at the marketing level. But honestly, that's been a massive problem with Urban Fantasy titles by new authors for several years.

Forecast: Zombies and Disappointment

24/11/2021

Feedback (Newsflesh #4)
by Mira Grant

Set during the events of Feed, this book gives us the Democrats' side of the Presidential race - and we also meet a very different group of blog-based journalists who don't have a family name to live up to. But that doesn't make their challenges any easier. Someone is trying to kill the candidate they're covering, someone who's part of a bigger conspiracy...

Unfortunately, most of Feedback is taken up with telling the same story and doesn't change anything of note. Sure, there's new people in new situations, but the plot is still the same - heck, even the same stuff happens to them at the same time as the main characters in the trilogy. That was tedious. And then things get completely bogged down in the Cult of Clive. But I did like the characters and hoped they would get more to do. They deserved better than this.

Forecast: Zombies, Conspiracies and the End

22/11/2021

Blackout (Newsflesh Trilogy #3)
by Mira Grant

Telling the truth will have consequences. Especially if that truth is told by someone who should be dead - and someone who talks to themselves. The zombies are no longer the greatest threat that humanity faces. There's a conspiracy at the highest levels, one that affects every living being. If there is no cure, then what is the alternative?

Whew. I feel like I need to take a breather after completing the trilogy. It was quite an intense experience. As conclusions go, Blackout is a very satisfying one, though I do feel it could have been stronger in some areas; for example, Rick and Ryman could have done with a bit more "screen time", as it were. It's highly unusual for book 2 of a trilogy to be superior to book 3, but there you go. What a ride this was. And of course I'm now going to read the non-trilogy books!

Forecast: Zombies with a Chance of Rain

21/11/2021

Deadline (Newsflesh Trilogy #2)
by Mira Grant

Shaun is damaged, seemingly beyond repair, by the events of the first book - but the news must go on. A dead woman has come to him for help and what she leads them to discover could be huge. World-ending huge. These are the kinds of secrets that get people killed. But that's not going to matter if the zombies get everyone first.

How did I not discover these amazing books before now? I swear my heart was pounding as I read the storm scene, because the tension was unreal and I was expecting So Many Bad Things. I prefer being in George's head as opposed to Shaun's (would George disagree? lol). But that didn't spoil the fun for me this time around. I haven't found a series this interesting in a good long while, so I think I'll stick around.

Your 2021 Advent Calendar

14/11/2021

Sealed with a Yuletide Kiss by Sophie Barnes

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

Twenty-four romantic short stories are to be found in this Christmas-themed collection, designed to be read from the 1st to the 24th of December.

This is undoubtedly the best advent calendar I've ever had the pleasure to open. Okay, so it's an ARC which means I had to read and review it beforehand, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to restrict myself to one story a day - they are heart-warming, sweet, and so easy to consume. The advent calendar idea is pretty awesome. It also works really well. And I'm not just saying this as a Sophie Barnes fan! Any reader who dabbles in historical romance will enjoy this..

Feed Me!!!

11/11/2021

Feed (The Newsflesh Trilogy #1)
by Mira Grant

The Rising changed the world. The dead do so much worse than haunt you. Everyone is now infected, everyone is capable of going through Amplification, and everyone who dies becomes a zombie, even without a bite - all it takes is for something as mundane as heart attack or a car crash. But even with these horrors in the background, the Presidential election must go on.

I'm completely blown away by this book. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was amazing the whole way to the end. This take on zombies was utterly fascinating, though I'd say that the idea of "bloggers telling the truth about the virus when mainstream media wouldn't!" has aged somewhat poorly lol. Ahem. Georgia was an excellent choice for a narrator and I immediately wanted to be friends with her. I was hooked. Hopefully Shaun will be just as riveting in the sequel.

YA = Yes, Awesome!

3/11/2021

Star Wars: Out of the Shadows (The High Republic)
by Justina Ireland

The dual Drengir and Nihil threats continue to run the Republic ragged. Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh has been comfortably based at Starlight Beacon, but now her duties take her to Coruscant. There she meets Sylvestri Yarrow, whose mother might be dead - or she might be helping the Nihil create a terrible weapon. But what is the true agenda of the wealthy Graf family in the ensuing investigation?

I've found that all the best stuff in the High Republic is to be found in the YA novels. Much like Into the Dark by Claudia Gray, this book benefits from focusing on fewer characters and has a less splintered plot than Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm. I also liked that Out of the Shadows finally dealt with the kidnapped hyperspace genius, a persistent and irritatingly stagnant feature in the adult novels. I enjoyed seeing Reath again and I warmed quickly to Vernestra (who I understand was introduced in an MG book, but I'm not sure I'm willing to read those). I do wish Syl had been less similar to Affie from Gray's instalment, however.

Frankly, with such strong YA novels like this and such abysmal adult ones, there's currently no need to read the main storyline.

Kurosawa Style

31/10/2021

Star Wars: Visions: Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon

The Ronin hunts the Sith down, continuing a journey that began two decades ago. But he can no longer avoid the one he betrayed and nor can he avoid the Jedi, those who control the light currents of the Force and are dedicated to the Empire. The road to redemption is littered with other travellers and their complicated motivations - which can either help or hinder.

This was such a fascinating take on the IP and I was delighted to delve more into the universe presented to us in that very short episode of Star Wars: Visions. The other Disney canon books have been heavily constricted by conformity, their authors forced to play it safe. Ronin, however, is a risk. It works. And it takes Star Wars back to its Japanese-inspired roots. While I think that the Sith/Jedi dichotomy could have made a bit more sense (i.e. Sith being servants of the Empire instead), I really applaud Candon for how well they pulled this off.

More Miss Than Hit

29/10/2021

The Witch Collector (Witch Walker #1)
by Charissa Weaks

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

Raina Bloodgood has lost her sister to the Witch Collector, but now she has a plan to finally end him with the God Knife her father once carried. But Collecting Day does not goes as planned - for anyone. Forced to travel with the Witch Collector after her village is attacked, Raina knows she must wait to get her revenge, but the longer she waits the longer she has to develop feelings for him.

This was a pleasant enough read, especially once things finally got interesting (after the 50% mark - I don't DNF if I can help it!). The weak worldbuilding resulted in confusion and a lack of investment on my part - and just when I was beginning to enjoy myself, I hit that rather lacklustre ending. I think the trilogy format really hurt this first book in terms of pacing. Which is too bad, since it had a lot of potential.