Category: Australian - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

Turning Cogs and Turning Pages

17/11/2023

Inventrici (Guild Series #1)
by Ivana L. Truglio

Three years ago, Telchide Inventore lost his companion and since then has focused on supporting his family. He does not want to orphan his daughter or publicly break the Edict that forbids inter-Guild collaboration. But when he is given the opportunity to explore an island with secrets that may further his career, Telchide must choose between playing it safe and risking everything - including his heart.

I've become very attached to the cosy fantasy genre of late, and the pleasant rhythm it offers, so I was quite happy to be drawn into the world inside Inventrici - and what a fascinating and intricate world it is. It's also a lot of fun to read about people inventing things we're very familiar with! Truglio's greatest strength, however, is making the characters feel like old friends.

CW: sexual assault

May the References Be with You

28/9/2023

Star Wars Episode I: Incredible Cross-Sections

As a child, I easily spent up to 2 hours at a time poring over these cross-sections and pretending that I was inside them. They are so incredibly detailed and nearly everything is labelled. The accompanying writing is just enough, illuminating the reader rather than being distracting. As an adult, I'm still very impressed with this book.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Incredible Cross-Sections

These books are amazing. By the time AOTC came out, I was a bit older and spent less time poring over the details of this one, but I remember liking it quite a bit. I'm currently reading through Clone Wars EU/Legends novels, so I was much more engaged with this book than I have been in previous years! Hm. Seems I didn't buy the ROTS one... will rectify that.

* later edit
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Incredible Cross-Sections

I didn't really pay as much attention to the text as I should have, though that's because the illustrations are the real feature here. The highlight is definitely the fold-out spread of the Invisible Hand. Really shows the distances that our heroes had to travel throughout the ship at the start.

Star Wars: Incredible Cross-Sections

What more can I say about these books? They're fantastic. I will say that this one is my least favourite, since three movies of ships are crammed into 32 pages, whereas later releases dedicated one book to each film.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Visual Dictionary

A pretty standard visual dictionary. As a teen, I was obsessed with the lightsaber combat pages - probably the main reason I've kept this book.

Star Wars: The Jedi Path

Star Wars: Book of Sith

This is an entertaining diversion. The text itself isn't all that interesting, but the scribbles supposedly penned by various characters are so much fun to read. But the physical presentation is what sets really this book apart. I have the expensive first edition, so it comes inside a plastic box that opens with accompanying sounds - and the book contains some physical mementos pressed between its pages (something I have emulated with my journals ever since I first read this!).

The presentation of the vault edition of this book is seriously cool. A Sith holocron! Buuut it's also the hardest one to open if the batteries have corroded (my younger self was apparently foolish when storing things). Anyway, I did manage to pry the book and the little pieces out.

Just as much fun as the Jedi book - and as a bonus, the Dark Empire references can almost (but not quite) be mistaken as foreshadowing for the sequel trilogy instead (I'm pretty sure that similarity wasn't a coincidence lol). Lastly, I liked how the pages had different edging - and one particular Quinlan Vos comment had me cackling.

Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Code

This book is somewhat amusing and the additional Cradossk memoirs that also came in the box inspired more than one smile from me. Maybe it could have been better, I guess, but the content will always be overshadowed by the presentation. This deluxe edition is amazing. You have to use a "key" attached to the back of the box to open it (and that's after using buttons to open the section where you slot the key in).

I will now remove the non-functioning batteries to avoid that annoying corrosion issue...

Star Wars: Imperial Handbook

The batteries in my copy still work! Nice. I'll take them out as soon as I finish this review lol.

I was a bit disappointed by the lack of extra bits inside the case and the book itself, since previous releases have had more, but I suppose Imperials wouldn't like that much clutter! The content of the book...did not hold my interest. There are too many different perspectives and it wasn't all that cohesive. But the comments that are supposedly handwritten by our beloved Rebels made it a worthwhile read.

Gambit's End

27/9/2023

Clone Wars Gambit: Siege (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Miller

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, chased across the planet Lanteeb by the Separatists after being betrayed by the scientist they tried to rescue, take refuge in a mining town. But they won't be safe there for long. They are surrounded by innocent civilians who have become targets in aiding them - and the Republic may not arrive in time to help any of them, including the Jedi.

Much of what I didn't like about Stealth is also present here. This should have been condensed to one book, Miller has no idea what to do with Ahsoka so sidelines her, yet another one of Obi-Wan's exes is floating about - and Miller's fondness of Obi-Wan is blatant in that she elevates him to the detriment of everyone else (look, he's my favourite character of the saga too, but you can't weaken other characters just to make one look better).

This all said, Siege is the strongest instalment of the duology because shit finally happens. Shit finally gets done. The siege concept was also inspired. Too bad the execution wasn't as good as it could have been.

While Ahsoka's Away, The Boys Will Play

26/9/2023

Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Miller

After a pyrrhic victory, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker have barely begun their furlough when intelligence - via Bail once again - reveals that the Separatists have invaded Lanteeb, a planet that has seemingly no strategic importance. Obi-Wan and Anakin embark on a stealth mission to get more details - and discover a Separatist weapon that could have catastrophic consequences.

Hmm. I really feel like the editors/TPTB should have reminded Karen Miller to kill her darlings. There are so many unnecessary characters and scenes that seem to exist purely to expand one book out into two. I'm also disappointed that Miller hasn't managed to grasp Ahsoka's character by this point - Ahsoka just sort of exists. But I can set aside my grievances long enough to acknowledge that Stealth contains a strong story that is competently built on the groundwork laid down by the preceding books in this series.

Wild Plot

24/9/2023

Wild Space (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Miller

Senator Bail Organa has received intelligence that the Jedi are being targeted and he trusts his contacts. His companion, Obi-Wan Kenobi, isn't so sure; this sounds an awful lot like a Sith trap to him. But it is a lead he must follow, especially since Bail is so intent on going - alone, if necessary. There are many dangers out in Wild Space... perhaps some even worse than the war itself.

Oh, how I wanted to love this book. The prose is *chef's kiss* - Miller has an exceptional writing style. Heck, I was impressed enough back in the day that I got her to sign my paperback copy. If this was a fanfic that was meant to rewrite the events of the Clone Wars show and ROTS, I'd be extolling its virtues. But it's not. It's three different books jammed together with an incohesive plot that doesn't truly start until after 100 pages(!) have passed. Miller took too many liberties with her "insights" (as the blurb on the back calls them) into the characters. For example, Palpatine's reason for attempting to kill Bail seemed rather weak.

This was a story clearly designed to explain why Obi-Wan trusted Bail so much. Miller succeeded in that regard, at least.

Fancy a Firestarter?

10/9/2023

Not Here to Make Friends (Marry Me, Juliet #3)
by Jodi McAlister

I received this ARC from Simon & Schuster Australia (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Murray O’Connell needs to produce another season of reality show Marry Me, Juliet and he has to do it without his best friend, Lily Ong. Or so he thought. After a year of silence, she's back - as Lily Fireball, not a producer and not the woman he knew, but the villain of his season. She could completely derail his plans...or help him make the most brilliant season of reality television ever.

I don't often get obsessed with a series. I'm extremely obsessed with this one.

I devoured the first two books, so of course I did my damndest to pick up an ARC of the third instalment. I was not at all disappointed! It was so much fun to read about two MCs who are such a mess - especially when they are so delightfully messier when put together. Lily Fireball is one of the most complex characters I've ever encountered and you will easily find yourself rooting for the "villain" here. McAlister has done it again - and yes, I'm still obsessed.

Bronze Debut

9/9/2023

Silver Valley (Silver Valley #1)
by Arabella Rosier

Savannah Shaw moves to Silver Valley because of her father's work and is happy to see her best friend, Jasmine Spark, again. But there is something seriously strange going on and Jasmine has told her not go into the forest. But Savannah is drawn to the forest - and the boy she's seen lurking there. Soon the secrets of Silver Valley will be revealed.

This is a well-written debut that introduces believable teenage characters and it was intriguing enough to hold my attention for the first and second acts (after that...not so much). There's potential here, but a lot of it is unrealised. I imagine that the uneven pacing and plot issues will improve across the series, just as the author improves in her craft.

A Very Suitable Sequel

3/9/2023

An Unsuitable Pursuit (Sisters of the Sword #2)
by Terri Green

TW: infant death

Lucinda Evans has become an unwilling spy and must now use her talents for King and Country - she has been ordered to seduce a Spanish swordsman. It is a cruel task, especially as it's been given to her by the uncle of the man she truly loves, Robert McCrae. Her heart may be in danger, but something more important is brewing in 1605 and it involves gunpowder, treason and plot...

Having finished the first book in the series, I was keen to dive back in - and I was not disappointed. This is an excellent sequel that develops Lucinda further as a character, as well as her relationships and her position in her world. I have quickly become attached to Lucinda and the Sisters of the Sword. Unfortunately, I must now wait much longer for the next book. Alas.

A Worthy Swordmistress

31/8/2023

The Swordmaster's Daughter (Sisters of the Sword #1)
by Terri Green

TW for the book: mentions & non-graphic descriptions of sexual assault

Lucinda Evans is a fine swordswoman, but she has been relegated to mere helper at her father's fencing academy in Whitefriars. Her skills are soon required by the women of London; a predator is attacking them in their homes. They need to be able to protect themselves. They need justice. Lucinda intends to help them - if only Robert McCrae, an infuriating and handsome Scotsman, would let her.

Give me a heroine with a sword in her hand and I'm happy. Give me several female characters using swords and I'm in heaven. This book has easily become one of my new favourites and I am so glad I picked it up. The historical research is well done, the heroine is both believable and kick-arse, and I was desperate for more as soon as it ended. Isn't it lucky that I also bought the sequel...

Taking A Gamble

28/8/2023

Driven to Distraction (Gamble Racing #1)
by Renée Dahlia

Ondrej needs to focus on reestablishing himself as an S1 driver with a new team and doesn't need any distractions. Cue the arrival of Hudson into his orbit, the historian Ondrej's father has hired to solve the mystery of a unique Bugatti that has been missing since WWII. Distraction is inevitable. But whether or not it will lead to something else is another matter entirely.

A super steamy and super fun romance with the added bonus of a mystery (though I do wish more pages had been devoted to the later, since it was so fascinating!). I really liked how Ondrej and Hudson were give the space and plenty of time to develop their relationship, especially given how much they had to work through. I'm happy to report that this book is just as good as its cover. ;)