Category: Urban Fantasy - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

A Book of Mages and Assassins

27/1/2024

The Sharp Edge of Fate (The Belladonna Trilogy #1)
by T. F. Johnson

Piper is known on the streets of Silversdale as Belladonna, a fearsome and effective assassin, but she manages to keep a low profile during the day... until she is sent to kill a mage staying in the royal household. Her failure throws her into a dangerous mystery that involves a string of disappearances. Solving the mystery may cost Piper her life - or the lives of people she cares deeply about.

I've been let down in the past by fantasy novels with purported assassins as MCs, so it is with great delight that I have discovered The Sharp Edge of Fate. Piper is the assassin I've been looking for. She's complex and sympathetic - and benefits from inhabiting a richly built world that feels both familiar and fantastical. This is a solid debut that leaves you craving the next instalment.

Cosy Creepiness

24/8/2023

Soul Taken (Mercy Thompson #13)
By Patricia Briggs

Wulfe, the unhinged vampire that has been stalking Mercy, has gone missing and now a creature worthy of a horror movie - quite literally - is slaying people with a slight magical bent with a scy - er, a sickle. Dealing with the Soul Taker is one thing. Figuring out how to dispose of a weapon that will only create another in its place when someone's hand touches it is quite another.

Despite not being a horror fan, I quite enjoyed the horror movie inspiration in this book and felt it paired well with the cosier domestic dramas flowing alongside it. Admittedly, the latter did dampen the tension a bit too much. But it's always nice to hang out with Mercy and Adam and perhaps I did need a book that didn't induce too much anxiety or despair.

First Fright

13/8/2023

Final Night (The Revenant Records #1)
by Kell Shaw

Lukie heads to a party in 1983, but suddenly finds herself waking up on the beach in 2003 - two decades after she was killed. She's not completely back from the dead, though. And the clock is ticking for this new revenant. She has until dawn to find her murderer and put an end to the supernatural reign of terror that has afflicted Breakwater Bay for decades.

I had a blast reading this - and not just because I have a weakness for urban fantasy and anything related to the 1980s (ha!). Perfectly paced and just the right length, Lukie's story grabs hold of you and doesn't let go until the end (which leaves you wanting more, of course). Honestly, this would make a fantastic TV pilot episode. A very strong debut.

A Fistful of Drudgery

26/6/2023

A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows #4)
by Kim Harrison

When Jenks' son gets into trouble while working with Nick, Rachel drags herself out of Cincinnati and swims to the rescue. Her ex has stolen a dangerous item and it could spell disaster if it falls into the wrong hands. So this isn't your usual run. And of course Rachel is going to find a way to make things even more dangerous for herself, especially now that Ivy has joined the fun.

This was honestly one of the worst books I've ever read. The pacing was all over the place and the plot was both baffling and uninspired. Nick's character has been so poorly written and so annoyingly inconsistent that I'm glad he seems to be out of the picture again. As usual, Harrison managed to redeem herself slightly with the ending, but I won't be giving her a free pass this time. Especially since she gave us so many leery descriptions of Jenks, while continually reminding us that he's 18. So it's TOTALLY OKAY for Rachel to be constantly ogling him. Umm. No, it's really not. If he looks like a teenager, then that says a lot about Rachel - none of it good.

I think I'll have to avoid this series for a bit. Hate reading is not one of my hobbies.

20/80 Vision

7/6/2023

Every Which Way But Dead (The Hollows #3)
by Kim Harrison

Rachel is being stalked by a demon who has made her his familiar, her boyfriend (also her familiar) has skipped town, she's pissed off one of her partners, and now she has to protect Trent (aka Not A Good Guy). She's also struggling to balance her feelings for a vampire with the dodgy stuff he's done in his life. She might come out of this mess in one piece, but will her soul remain untouched?

I really wasn't impressed with this book until the last 20%, which was brutal and epic and everything a climax should be. But I'm not sure it makes up for the crappy 80% that preceded it. The plot, if there was one, rambled aimlessly in unnecessary directions and Rachel's previous love interest just up and left. I mean, he's not a great character so it's no real loss, but that was a lazy and jarring decision. Still, that last 20%...

And no, this book isn't getting my "LGBTQIA+ representation" tag because it's so badly done.

Second and Second to None

4/5/2022

Corpselight (Verity Fassbinder #2)
by Angela Slatter

Verity Fassbinder is back in the thick of things - and she's also heavily pregnant. Something wet and gross and deadly is lurking in Brisneyland, but it doesn't offer the same danger that a mysterious kitsune does...or the appearance of those thought lost. Verity can handle an attack from all sides...but can she also protect her family?

Easily the best book of the trilogy and definitely not bogged down by the issues that usually afflict a book 2 in a trilogy - although, it's obvious this was meant to be more than trilogy (and how I wish it was a proper series). I've always liked how David was used in the other books and this is no exception. Verity is a character who is grounded by her family and she's not the isolated hero that pervades so many other novels (side note - even I'll admit that isolating her in book #3 was a stroke of genius). Anyway, I loved Corpselight and I'll forever be salty that this "trilogy" didn't get the marketing it deserved.

Time Wounds Some Books

30/4/2022

The Good, the Bad and the Undead (The Hollows #2)
by Kim Harrison

Rachel Morgan is struggling to make bank, to avoid a demon who's marked her, to not get eaten by her vampire roommate - and oh yeah, now she has to catch a serial killer who's going after witches who know a thing or two about ley lines. So it'd be dangerous if she, a witch, also started acting like she knew something about ley lines...

This was a MUCH stronger novel than the first one and I'm glad I gave it a chance. I was really drawn in by Rachel's struggles and she irritated me less - clearly Harrison managed to get a better grasp on her the second time around. I would have rated this more had I read it when it was published...but the rampant sexism - and oof that homophobic joke - had me cringing so hard in 2022.

Marvel It Ain't

27/4/2022

House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)
by Sarah J. Maas

Bryce and Hunt are trying to lie low and also trying not to "get together" in any fashion, but of course this won't last for long. A boy rumoured to have great power is missing and on his way to the city. Rebels are rising seemingly everywhere - and they are hardly unified. And more of Danika's secrets will be revealed, along with the truth about Asteri.

Hmm. I actually think this is Maas' best work. Her previous books weren't very good, but they were all training grounds for House of Sky and Breath. I feel like this is the book where she finally hit her groove. I was actually invested in this plot and the laborious info-dumping from the first Crescent City book was missing. I was honestly loving this. I was thinking "damn, do I like Maas' writing now?"... and then the ending happened. Such a lazy, self-indulgent thing to do. Look, I get it. It's something most writers think about doing... when they're teenagers (yep, even I've had those thoughts). But while it might be fun to do for your own amusement, it's best kept as an idea and not as an actual plot device in a published novel.

Living Book Limping

19/4/2022

Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows #1)
by Kim Harrison

Rachel Morgan has just quit Inderland Security to strike out on her own and her former boss has it in for her - as in, he's put a price on her head because she took one of his best employees with her. This makes investigating a guy who is running - possibly evenly creating - biodrugs somewhat difficult. There's also the matter of her vampiric roommate...

Hmm. This is definitely a product of its time. I've reread my fave UF serieses too many times so I thought I'd give it a go...can't say I'm impressed. Dead Witch Walking is a typical 2000s urban fantasy novel and a surprisingly weak first entry for a series of this longevity. Rachel isn't a particularly strong or likeable character, though I'd be interested to see how she develops - hopefully she loses her "gay panic" over Ivy? It's somewhat common for characters from the 2000s to insist "I'M STRAIGHT" in certain situations, but honestly it reads like Rachel/Ivy is meant to be endgame lol. And I know that's not the case.

If You Go Down in the Woods Today...

4/3/2022

Wild Sign (Alpha & Omega #8)
by Patricia Briggs

A group of recluses disappear from their small camp on land belonging to Leah, the Marrok's mate. Secrets and lost memories are only a small part of the problem that Charles and Anna must confront as they hike towards - and find - Wild Sign. There are some evils that are old enough to wait for those that come to them.

Books in the Mercy Thompson universe are (with a few exceptions) reliably good, warm and comforting for me as a reader (even if horrible things happen inside those pages!). Wild Sign is another excellent entry to the universe. Delightfully creepy, its story slowly unravelling, the added bonus of Anna and Charles still being as cute as ever - I'm definitely going to be rereading this one at some point.