Blog Archives - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

Travel Without Quarantine

29/3/2021

Marriage Unarranged by Ritu Bhathal

Aashi should be preparing for the most exciting day of her life, but her wedding dreams are in tatters after she discovers her husband-to-be has cheated. Now she must cancel everything - except, perhaps, the trip she had planned to take to India with her best friend and her brothers. Aashi may find herself there...and she may also find true love.

I loved this!! Not only did it provide some desperately-needed armchair travel, it was a delightful read that kept me hooked way past my bedtime. Of course, I enjoyed the romantic pairings, exploring the "sights", the sprinkling of melodrama (never outstaying its welcome) - but mostly I enjoyed reading about Aashi and Arjun together. I desperately need this book to be turned into a movie.

So Much Potential

28/3/2021

The Queen's Blade
by Natasja Rose

Sayfiya al-Aziz is tired of being refused the honour becoming a true assassin because of her gender, so seeks to accomplish what male assassins have failed to do: kill Queen Alexandra. But she finds more than she bargained for on her mission.

I really enjoyed Sayfiya and Alexandra as characters - it'd have been nice for them to populate a much longer story, which I feel would have done them more justice. The condensed narrative resulted in a lot of telling instead of showing and many developments were glossed over. Definitely one of those "but this had the potential to be so good, dang it!" stories.

A Bigfoot in a Big World

25/3/2021

A Bigfoot's Gift (A Bigfoot's Journey #1)
by Mel Braxton

Alice is a Bigfoot and lives with her hidden community in the forest. One night the Fae gift her with a magical necklace that gives her the ability to walk among humans, unnoticed for what she is. The world outside her village is strange to Alice. But it may just be the place for her to find her true self.

This was a cute YA novel that served as a vehicle for Braxton to make her usual insightful commentary on human nature. Alice is a very likeable protagonist and her community is absolutely fascinating. I do think, however, that this was a bit short for YA (perhaps a length more suitable for MG, though the subject matter is certainly YA) and there was not enough conflict or plot for the intended age group. As a result, the book feels somewhat incomplete. But I did like what there was of it.

Not All That Glitters

24/3/2021

The Wild Mermaid by Mel Braxton

Cora can't wait to return to Atlantis and the dazzling future that awaits her there, among the others of her kind. If only she could remember her previous visits. If only she could remember...well, anything. Soon she will discover that Atlantis is no safe place for a mortal mermaid. And there is something sinister occurring beneath the blinding lights and beautiful music.

This is a quick, pleasant read as it is on the shorter side, with very little padding. I think I would have liked it to be a little longer. But I really did like The Wild Mermaid, especially the deeper message about how our experiences can transform us. I remember reading an earlier version of this on Wattpad and I have to say I am blown away by how well it's been scrubbed and edited. Seeing how things changed certainly added to my enjoyment of it.

Princess Switch: Geek Edition

19/3/2021

The Princess and the Fangirl (Once Upon A Con #2)
by Ashley Poston

Jessica Stone wants to leave the Starfield franchise and its toxic fans behind her. The role has been the bane of her existence - and now she's lost the script to the sequel. She needs someone to pretend to be her while she finds it... so enter Imogen Lovelace, a huge Starfield fan who looks uncannily like her. But Imogen isn't filling in Jessica's shoes just to be nice - she wants to ensure that Jessica's character makes it to the sequel and that is the last thing Jessica wants.

I loved Geekerella so this was an insta!buy for me. Once again, I threw myself into the cutesy geekiness with wild abandon and enjoyed every second of it. I am such a sucker for stories, be they books or movies, set over a short period of time. So much fun knowing there's only a weekend for everything to be resolved! This all said, I didn't fall as much in love with this one as I did the previous book - probably more to do with my not loving the tale that inspired it. But I will still inhale the next one.

Shadow Games

18/3/2021

The Heart of a Shadow (Merged Worlds #1)
by Samantha Marshall

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

Liria Atlannon is a shadow and is bound to the will of Princess Ione, who has travelled to Egypt to marry its pharaoh. Liria will always remain Ione's shadow...or she's supposed to. But the pharaoh's brother, Prince Raiden, sees her for what she is and what she can be. Unfortunately, anything that grows between them will have to survive the gods turning Egypt in a battleground.

This was a delightful dark fantasy novel with an Ancient Egyptian bent - I have always had a soft spot for those gods and any book that makes use of them. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and felt like I had to fan myself even when Liria and Raiden were sharing innocuous scenes! And Ione is one of the most complex characters I've ever encountered. I kind of wished I could dive right into this book and live there, though obviously I'd prefer not to encounter someone like Set...!

Three on a Match

13/3/2021

All We Have is Now by Kaneana May

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

Olive, Elsie and Bree move their growing wellness centre into a larger place and must navigate the ensuing changes and challenges in their lives. For Olive, it's her secret past surfacing in the form of the wellness centre's new masseuse. For Elsie, it's her role as stepmother and soon-to-be mother. For Bree, it's the sister who blows in and out of her life and causes trouble wherever she goes. Achieving wellness will be harder than any of them ever realised.

I'm always hungry for a novel that explores the varied and fascinating relationships between women and this certainly delivered. Olive, Elsie and Bree felt like real people to me. I could easily picture running into them on the street. May has a history of making me ugly cry (see her previous novel, The One!) and All We Have is Now was no exception. Definitely park yourself beside a box of tissues when you pick up this book. A thoroughly satisfying read.

Still Smitten

11/3/2021

Smoke Bitten (Mercy Thompson #12)
by Patricia Briggs

Mercy has problems - well, how could this be a Mercy Thompson novel without problems! - in the form of a nefarious jackrabbit, an invading pack, a gate to Underhill appearing in her yard, and something weird going on with her alpha husband. Any one of these problems could be dealt with on their own. But together, they have the potential to bring Mercy and the pack to their knees.

There's something comforting about reading these books. Mercy and co feel like old friends and Briggs somehow keeps the rhythm going so well. I was pleased with Smoke Bitten. It was exactly what I wanted and needed. And this time I could enjoy it without interruption - there are no more photos of me passed out with a baby passed out on top of me, a Mercy Thompson novel hanging from my hands (2020 was A Year, for sure). Briggs is still in fine form here.