Alyce Caswell - Author
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Book Reviews

Red, White & Hell Yes

22/7/2023

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Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

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Alex Claremont-Diaz, First Son of the President of the United States, has a nemesis. Prince Henry, British royal, bland, boring and absolutely infuriating. Alex cannot stand him. But after a very public incident at a royal wedding - involving the cake no less - he and Henry are forced to portray a fake friendship for the media. But that friendship might soon become something more political volatile.

Gosh. I just loved this book so much and moved mountains so I could finish it without interruption. The story starts out being utterly cute and then becomes deliciously angsty. My kind of romance. And yay, bi rep! It's nice to feel seen, because I too had that "so if I like the opposite gender, I must be straight" thing going on until my early twenties. Now I must impatiently wait until August 11 for the film adaptation.

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Yyyhw Read Ho

21/7/2023

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The Cestus Deception (Star Wars Legends)
​by Steven Barnes

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​Ord Cestus, formerly a prison planet, is now the origin for deadly droids known as JKs - Jedi Killers. And the current inhabitants will happily take Separatist money. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kit Fisto are dispatched by the Chancellor with a mission that comprises of Plan A and Plan B. If either of these are to work, then there cannot be any surprises. Even worse would be a surprise who wields red lightsabers...

Oh, gosh. It's hard to review this book. Sadly, it was not greater than the sum of its parts, even though many of those parts were quite good. The setup itself was intriguing - I love a twisty insurgency plot. Obi-Wan actually read like Obi-Wan, though his role in the proceedings seemed a touch out of character. Kit Fitso was a a blast, which is what I've come to expect from his character over the years.

Onto the stuff I didn't like. When compared to Karen Traviss' work, Barnes' own attempts to humanise clones and introduce them to relationships just... didn't feel natural. There were also a couple of very jarring moments for me. One of those was the fact that the alien lawyer's name, Doolb Snoil, was such an obvious emordinlap of the author's novel Lion's Blood that even I, as someone who only saw that book referenced on the cover just before starting this one, noticed.

The other jarring moment... look, I know this book was published in 2004, but even back then I was starting to get really annoyed about how men were writing women. Reading this in 2023, I was really REALLY annoyed. I have to quote the offending section because it's so bad - "only her breasts and hips feminizing an otherwise muscular physique". Gah. Ventress deserves better than this. And so do I.

It's really weird how a few small things can sour my opinion of a novel. But there you go.

My paperback copy of The Cestus Deception has the companion piece The Hive in the back. Okay, correct me if I'm wrong, but this seemed like a bunch of deleted chapters from 
The Cestus Deception that got repackaged into a novella. It baffles me that this actually got published, since the novella doesn't quiiiite fit in with the book's storyline, despite being set at some point during it. But who cares - it was MUCH better than the book. This adventure held my attention and I quite enjoyed it. Too bad it had to end so soon.

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Last Book Standing

15/7/2023

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Last Bride Standing (Majestic Maine #3)
by Ginny Baird

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Charlotte Delaney lost the bet with her sisters and has prepared herself to enter into a marriage of convenience with Aidan Strong. But Aidan has no intention of marrying Charlotte when he can just give her half of the business, which is fair compensation for her family. Charlotte wants more than a fair, though. She wants everything...maybe even at the cost of the one person she really wants.

When you reach the end of a series with tears in your eyes, you know the author has done a good job of engaging your emotions. I was just so happy for everyone, including the supporting cast who also got their HEAs. This wasn't my favourite book of the trilogy, however. The stakes didn't seem high enough and Baird's ham-fisted use of "Britishisms" was incredibly distracting.

Anything I really liked about this book was just a leftover from the ones that preceded it.

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Triple No

9/7/2023

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Republic Commando: Triple Zero (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Traviss

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​The Clone Wars continue to rage and terrorist activity is now occurring on Triple Zero - the military designation for Coruscant, the very heart of the Republic. Omega Squad are called upon to deal with the problem. But the solution is less frontline tactics and more shady spywork. Not exactly their standard fare, but failure is not an option. Coruscant and brotherhood are both at stake.

Ohhh this was such a disappointment after Hard Contact - no tight focus or bare-bones approach here. Frankly, the main problem is Kal Skirata. Every other character seems to act like he should be respected, but he's written as a complete arsehole who is also somehow as interesting as a piece of cardboard. No presence whatsoever. It was mildly palatable, however, because I love Etain and Darman and have fiercely shipped them ever since I first read this book.

Included in my copy of this book was a short story by Traviss called "Omega Squad: Targets". It was hard, but I set aside my ardent dislike of Kal Skirata for the duration of this tale and actually managed to enjoy it. Average, but entertaining.

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The Excellent Ms Heath

7/7/2023

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The Notorious Lord Knightly (The Chessmen: Masters of Seduction)
by Lorraine Heath

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Arthur Pennington, the Earl of Knightly, has oft been called Knight, as one of the Chessmen, but now society is wondering if his latest moniker is Lord K, a character in a salacious new book that purports to be a memoir. Could the author perhaps be Miss Regina Leyland, the illegitimate woman that he jilted at the altar? And if so... what will her revenge end up costing her?

I think by now it's obvious that I'm a fan of Lorraine Heath's novels. This one delivers the usual delicious scandal, the even more delicious heat, and a romance that will linger in your memories. I also the fact that Lord K's competition in gaining Regina's hand was not some mustache-twirling villain. I will now impatiently count the months until the next book in the series is released.

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Heart of Ohdearness

5/7/2023

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Shatterpoint (Star Wars Legends)
​by Matthew Stover

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​Mace Windu returns to the world of his birth, Haruun Kal, on a mission that is both urgent and personal - his former Padawan, Depa Billaba, has gone missing and a disturbing message was left in her voice inside the head of a corpse. Mace soon begins to understand the darkness that has claimed Depa. He will have to cling to the tenets of the Jedi Order to stop himself repeating her mistakes.

I am not sure who this main character was, but he certainly wasn't Mace Windu. And he certainly didn't have Mace Windu's "voice". Who knows, I might've forgiven the book its flaws if the author had chosen a random name instead...nah. Too many flaws. The first half drags badly, but I stubbornly pushed through to the much better second half (which had an admittedly exciting climax).

Too bad both halves of the book are equally problematic. The POC who live in the jungle are portrayed as permanently violent and illiterate; the antithesis of the white folk who live in town (as for any POC who grew up in said town, they are portrayed as being much more civilised). Now that was ... A Choice. A bad one.

My copy of this novel includes a short story called "Equipment", also by Stover. Not 
especially brilliant, but quite a relief to read after the terrible novel that preceded it.

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More Heir than Spare

2/7/2023

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My Spare Heart by Jared Thomas

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Phoebe doesn't want to go to a new school or move in permanently with her dad and his girlfriend - and she definitely doesn't want to do yoga! She just wants to play basketful like her heroes. While settling in isn't so bad, it does mean that she can't see her mum as often as she'd like...and it'd help if her mum actually showed up when she promised she would.

Jared Thomas has a gift for writing YA fiction that feels real, isn't unbelievable or OTT, and is accessible to teens who might not usually read as a hobby. For some adult readers, this means the prose isn't as elegant as in some other YA novels, but you're not the intended audience. Thomas grapples with some very difficult issues here, including having an alcoholic as a parent and dealing with micro-aggressions. This is a solid Australian story.

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    About

    ​Alyce Caswell, when she isn't drinking her way through a giant pot of tea, can be found dabbling in multiple genres and writing forms. She has self-published several titles in her space opera family saga, which is divided into two series: The Galactic Pantheon and The Pantheon War. Her most recent book is The Shadow of the Gods.

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  • Home
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    • The Galactic Pantheon >
      • The Tortured Wind
      • The Twisted Vine
      • The Flickering Flame
      • The Shifting Ice
      • The Whispering Grass
      • The Creeping Moss
      • The Galactic Pantheon Novellas
      • The Adventures of Grace Pendergast, Galactic Reporter
    • The Shadow of the Gods
    • Dealing with the Demon
    • Love and Lockdown
    • The Eyes of Charon
    • Sweet Delights
  • Other Works
  • Book Reviews
  • Get in Touch