Category: US - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

One Wedding & Some Drama

21/9/2024

Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat

Arya should be happy - her sister is back and planning a wedding to really nice guy. But the more time they spend together under one roof, the more the tension rises. Meanwhile, Arya is trying to get ready for college and fulfil her student government responsibilities, but the boy who won the role of president over her is so annoying. How could he be anything but an enemy?

This book's main strength is how it explores and handles female relationships, particularly familial ones. I always like to see this kind of thing done well. It also helps that the plot is engaging, perfect for YA readers who want spades of character growth alongside the expected romance. There is no absolutely no need for familiarity with Bollywood movies to enjoy Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment (I think the only one I've seen all the way through is Lagaan!). And enjoy it I did.

Tropetastic

20/9/2024

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist by Sophie Gonzales

Ivy is a huge fan of a fantasy TV series but she doesn't expect to wake up with one of the characters in her bed. Weston is somehow real - and he thinks they're soulmates! Now Ivy has to find a way to hide his presence from everyone, especially her neighbour and ex-BFF, Mack. But maybe this isn't a story about soulmates. Maybe it's a story about mutual pining...and maybe Mack is Ivy's costar instead.

Gosh, this was cute. And I love seeing another bi girl with a similar haircut to mine on a book cover! As for the story, it's fun and amusing. The teen angst and drama ring true and you can't help but like every character. I did feel that this could have been something more, but sometimes you just want an uncomplicated YA novel to breeze through. As a bonus - I've discovered another Australian author!

Mages Run Amok

20/9/2024

The Silent Tower (Windrose Chronicles #1)
by Barbara Hambly

Caris witnesses the murder of a mage right before the perpetrator disappears. In our world, Joanna is a programmer who can't shake the feeling that she is being stalked - and this culprit also leaves no trace of themselves. Caris accompanies his grandfather to the Silent Tower, where Antryg (the student of an infamous dark mage) resides. But instead of answers, Caris will only find more questions.

I'm not usually one for cliffhangers, but it was so well done and this book was so well written that I was excited instead of annoyed when I reached the end (but I do have the benefit of possessing the next 2 books...). Hambly certainly has a way with words. I really loved this... and was delighted by the offhanded mention of a female guard having "a girlfriend of her own". What's this? Queer rep in the 1980s? Sweet! But uh oh. Of course the other queer rep arrived in the form of a gay man being portrayed as a sinful "pervert". Typical for the era but le sigh.

Anyway, I am so weak for retro fantasy and I'm fast becoming a Barbara Hambly fan.

Back to the 1990s

16/9/2024

Tiger Burning Bright
by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton & Mercedes Lackey

Emperor Balthazar has ruthlessly added many lands to his empire and now he has set his sights on Merina. The women of the House of the Tiger, who rule Merina, know they cannot win a siege - and the city would be ransacked. The safest option is to surrender and vanish. But Merina is soon full of agents of a dark mage and the city is ruled by fear. The time for hiding might be over.

I found this book at a charity sale and the cover alone sent me into paroxysms of nostalgia. I really miss 1990s heroic fantasy. Tiger Burning Bright would have been a favourite of mine if I'd found it as a child - this is a book about the strengths of three different women and the way they defend their city is a refreshing alternate to the usual battles found in other fantasy works (though there are indeed battles to be found). Heroines rule these pages as surely as women rule Merina. I will say it's not perfect... but it's exactly what I wanted.

The Force and the Restless

8/9/2024

Temptation of the Force (Star Wars: High Republic)
by Tessa Gratton

The Stormwall has been breached and the Republic can begin operations in the Nihil's Occlusion Zone. Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann both have their parts to play - and if they can avoid attachment, perhaps their love can make them better Jedi. Meanwhile, a blight is spreading throughout the galaxy and Marchion Ro is quietly studying it, to see if he can make another fearsome weapon.

Gratton is one of the stronger authors of the High Republic project and her exceptional writing is once again on display here (a relief after Defy the Storm). I want to say this is my favourite adult novel so far, but it definitely has issues - for example, the climax occurs in the middle of the book, which is really strange and causes the second half to drag. And Marchion Ro is the most uninteresting villain ever; he just roams around and you wonder how anyone is actually afraid of him lol. But I'm weak for Avar and Elzar content... so that was a nice distraction from my bemusement.

Still, I really enjoyed reading this book. I mean, I shouldn't give it my love... it doesn't deserve it haha... anyway, it's better than a lot of the other adult novels in the High Republic project.

Jedi Council Does Kwenn

31/8/2024

The Living Force (Star Wars Disney)
by John Jackson Milley

In the wake of outpost closures that have left ordinary people feeling abandoned by the Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn challenges the Council to reconnect to the Living Force. Help one person. Help another. So this venerable collection of Jedi Masters travel to Kwenn, a world that was once the sight of a Great Work during the High Republic, to render service and aid to those who need it.

I think the idea behind this book was quite good, though the execution didn't quite managed to do it justice. Could another author have done better? I'm not sure. Miller's strength does lie in ensemble casts. But I wonder if this might have worked better as an anthology of connected stories, like his Lost Tribe of the Sith short works. As a novel, it has too much going on. Too many characters doing too many things - and some of those things don't add to the story in the way they could have.

This is, ultimately, a well-written but largely forgettable book.

An Author's Doll's House in Maine

16/6/2024

Charming the Highlander (Pine Creek Highlanders #1)
by Janet Chapman

Grace Sutter is fulfilling her sister's dying request - taking her nephew to meet his strange father in her hometown - when she is in a plane accident and stranded on a snowy mountain with Greylen MacKeage, a laird who was uprooted from medieval Scotland and has been adjusting to modern ways. Surviving their precarious situation is one thing. Surviving each other is quite another.

This is clearly a product of its time. A heroine who is a totallyindependent woman but needs a big strong man to help her out. Fear of weapons of mass destruction. Consent that is incredibly dubious. I tried to recall if I'd read better romance novels from the early 2000s. The Bridgerton books, the first that sprang to mind, were also very dodgy... fortunately, romance novels have come a long way in 20 years. But even then there were love stories that developed properly, instead of whatever was going on here. Kissing and intimacy scenes did not feel natural at all; Grace and Greylen acted like dolls that the author was mashing together, whether they liked it or not. It was weird and off-putting.

I realise that this was Chapman's first book and she is no longer here to defend herself, but I doubt I'll be checking out the rest of her work.

Almost Picture Perfect

10/6/2024

A Scot in the Dark (Scandal & Scoundrel #2)
by Sarah MacLean

Alec Stuart became the Duke of Warwick through a series of unlikely mishaps (he was seventeenth in line!) and unfortunately this means he has inherited a ward - and she is in a storm of scandal. Lillian Hargrove posed for a nude painting because she believed the artist loved her. But now he's going to expose her to all of London. She wants to run. Alec wants her to wed... anyone but himself.

I have a weakness for Scottish heroes and I enjoy historical romances that contain an interesting plot alongside the burgeoning relationship, so I am more than satisfied with this ex-library book that I picked up for $1! And it's in hardcover to boot. I did find Alec to be a little toooo stubborn at times, but that aside this was a fun read that has made me want to check out MacLean's other books.

Expanded Universe Round-Up #28

17/5/2024

Galaxy of Fear Series by John Whitman

#1 - Eaten Alive

This was one of my favourites series when I was a kid, so I'm always going to be biased when I re-read it. I also enjoyed Goosebumps at the time, which is the obvious inspiration behind these books (heck, even the typical GB older sister-younger brother dynamic got ported over), but Galaxy of Fear always triumphed in my eyes - the same characters developing in new situations, with bonus Star Wars settings and cameos!

Eaten Alive shows us the blueprint of what all the books will be like. Yes, there are ridiculous cliffhangers at the end of every chapter. Yes, there are cringey hints (D'vouran is devourin'). But the mystery behind Hoole is interesting. Tash and Zak feel like real kids. Perhaps I enjoyed this more than I ought to have... ;D

#2 - City of the Dead

Zombies!! Boba Fett!! This book was quite a chilling tale when I was a kid. As an adult, I can appreciate Zack trying to manage his grief after his losing his parents. It was also great to see Dr Evazan meet his end.

#3 - Planet Plague

Yep, this is still one of my favourite books, even nearly 30 years later. I'm always happy to see Wedge and I love these plague-infested blobs. So delightfully creepy. This book also showed that Tash is in the anger stage of her grief. She learns an important lesson about handling her anger, which is unexpected but very welcome in a series that's best described as Space Goosebumps.

#4 - The Nightmare Machine

This one really tried my patience - and I don't recall loving it as much as other instalments in the series. But I did like that Tash and Zak were visiting a place that had been offhandedly mentioned in book #2. These books were well planned, or at least planned better than some of their MG contemporaries. And Lando was a welcome cameo! He made sense in the context of things.

#5 - Ghost of the Jedi

This is one of my favourite books OF ALL TIME. I've read it many more times than the rest of the books in the series. As a kid, I was obsessed with ghosts and Jedi, so the ghost of a Jedi was incredibly exciting to me. I am still very fond of Aidan Bok. I spent so many years wishing he would appear in pre-ROTS media. Alas. I also love Tash's journey in this book, as she gains more confidence and more awareness of herself. Something I went through when I was younger, when I was reading about her adventures. Yep, these books aren't just horror and Star Wars cameos (oh hai, Dannik Jerriko!).

#6 - Army of Terror

The mystery of Uncle Hoole is finally revealed! It was such a shock to me as a kid - that and the bad guy getting his comeuppance halfway through the series. Wait, I didn't have time to get sick of him! Which is a good thing. Whitman didn't drag this arc out too much and I appreciate that. Six books was the perfect length for Project Starscream. And heck, I'm always happy to see Han, Leia, Luke, Chewie and the droids. Bonus Darth Vader. I am, as ever, sad about Eppon.

#7 - The Brain Spiders

So the main arc is over and it's time for standalone stories, but they're just as good - because this series' strength is not in its plots but in how it handles Tash and Zak growing up. Obviously, brains and bodies being swapped is not a new concept (sometimes I think it's overdone). And yet, it was still a fun read.

#8 - The Swarm

While I enjoyed Thrawn's appearance - Whitman suitably modified him for a younger audience, but he was still himself - the rest of the book wasn't as good. Zak learned an important lesson at what felt like an excruciatingly glacial pace, which somehow made this shorter-than-average book feel much longer than it actually was.

#9 - Spore

Okay, this isn't the greatest book and certainly not the best in the series, but it had a HUGE impact on me as a kid. So creepy. So fascinating. So I definitely know where my obsession with sentient trees came from. Ha! Derec was a cool villain and it was many, many years before I realised where he originated from (despite his description being vaguely familiar). I also remember being intrigued by Fandomar, having encountered her in an adult novel before reading this one.

#10 - The Doomsday Ship

This book is a lot of fun and even as an adult I found sections of it to be quite tense. I was amused by the 2001: A Space Odyssey and WarGames references, which I suppose might annoy some people but I have a nostalgic streak. Sometimes you just want to read an entertaining book about a computer AI going rogue. And who can be mad about a Dash Rendar appearance?

#11 - Clones

Clones generally cause mayhem and this is no exception! I really enjoyed exploring Dantooine through this book when I was younger. Unsurprisingly, I still enjoy it. Tash's realisation that she should not be using the Force in anger is an important one. She's always been my favourite character of the series and I fancied myself a Jedi just as she does, so I will always be invested in her journey with the Force. Perhaps this book - like the others - is flawed, but it's a firm favourite.

#12 - The Hunger

Zak comes into his own in this tale of Boba Fett, Yoda and cannibals. There's not much that's new here, since it's a standard Galaxy of Fear book, but it is the last one and still manages to serves up thrills and entertainment. I often find myself thinking about this plot even when I haven't gone near my Legends books in months. I'm glad the series ends here. It's a good spot for it... though I wish we had seen Tash and Zak at Luke's Jedi Academy. Alas.

Obviously, this book was released before AOTC told us that Boba Fett had to have heard about Yoda (and likely knew what he looked like), but I don't really mind this inconsistency because the pre-1999 Star Wars books were my early childhood and that era seemed to go on forever (as time does when you're a kid). I'm very fond of this stuff. Sure, I was still growing up through the prequel era, but Star Wars media became almost too easy to find after TPM was released. These earlier Legends books I had to hunt for in the back of K-Mart. I almost never managed to buy them in order.

I can confidently say that my pocket money was not wasted on Galaxy of Fear. This series has given me nearly three decades of joy.

A Lack of Tea

15/5/2024

A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea #1)
by Hafsah Faizal

Arthie Casimir runs a tearoom that morphs into a bloodhouse for vampires at night, but the main currency she deals in is secrets. A little bit of pressure gets her what she wants. This time, though, her tearoom is in enough trouble that a few secrets won't help her. She has to pull off a heist inside a vampiric lair and take down a ruler. In order to do all that, she needs a team. Trust is secondary.

I was excited to pick this book up from the library, since the tearoom-and-heist concept was right up my alley. Except there wasn't much of the tearoom or much of a heist. A lot of other things were going on instead. Disappointment quickly set in, though I was able to enjoy Faizal's beautiful phrasing and liked some of the characters (so full of hopes and flaws). I especially liked the hint about how revealing a secret can actually cover a bigger secret, since I guessed Arthie's secret early on... but I did not see the other reveal coming. I'm cautiously interested in book 2 (but I will hold the excitement for now...).