Raven, Fire and Ice (Touch of Truth, #1) by Nita Round – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, fantasy, mystery, Nita Round, Steampunk

About Raven, Fire and Ice

Lucinda Ravensburgh sees the truth in everything she touches. When Captain Magda Stoner of the airship Verity, asks for her help in a very strange and messy crime, Lucinda cannot refuse. From that moment on, Lucinda’s life is changed forever. She discovers, no matter what the obstacle, nor the troubles they encounter, finding the truth is paramount.

Review of Raven, Fire and Ice

Oh wow! As soon as I started reading Raven, Fire and Ice, my eyes were glued to the page. Do not let the very brief book blurb fool you. This is a riveting story of rich characters, compelling earth magic and a vibrant setting that pulls you right into the scene.

Okay, that was a typical wrap-up paragraph for me. But I wanted to get your attention. The reason I decided to read Raven, Fire and Ice is because the author described it as steampunk. When added to the blurb, I thought, sure, I’ll give it a go. Wise move.

When the story begins, Lucinda Ravensburgh is doing her thing, using her gifts in her position as… Well, you don’t know what she is, so you just keep reading to figure it out. And it takes a while, but in the mean-time the action is riveting. The author’s style of writing is mostly dialog and action. There is not an abundance of descriptive narration and almost no internal character musings. It works well and made the story move very quickly for me, despite the 422 pages (so says Amazon).

The just right amount of descriptive narration vividly paints settings. From the Angles tower to the huge airship that must cause a bit of airship envy. From the new Raven Tower to the city of Wash Town with it’s many levels and layers. The brilliant settings seemed to take a life of their own, as much as the characters did.

And since characters make the story, I should say a bit about them. Lucinda is both confident and unsure. These two traits seem contradictory, but her honesty about them is both humble and boastful. I like her direct manner very much. Captain Magda Stoner made a brilliant entrance into the story clinging to proper titles so much that it became almost irritating. But it set the tone for her character. Correct, maybe a little uptight, but extremely capable. She is Captain of the airship with an assorted crew of able airship operators. Officer Ascara is in charge of security on the airship and off of it. Her seemingly casual manner is supplemented by vigilance and she is relentless when performing her duties.

This trio of women are an unlikely team of detectives that will discover the truth about disappearing people in Wash Town. While Lucinda was the person hired to do the job, Magda and Ascara are the catalysts that help her complete the process. Individually, each has her strengths. But as the team, the sum of the whole is greater than the parts. I like them very much!

They are more than a team which you will discover when you read about the Raven Tower and its emergence. They do spend a little time naked together and admiring each other in their nakedness. Are they meant to be more than a crime-solving team? In Raven, Fire and Ice, they do not become lovers, but the implication is that there might be something in the future. Each approaches the possibility of such a relationship in her own unique manner: amusement, pointlessness, hopefulness. I like that the relationship stays on a professional level, at least for now.  These three women as main characters overshadow all the other characters.

I will leave you with a passage from early in the book. More of foretoken of things to come, it also ties into the title:

As the door closed Lucinda leaned back in her chair and stared at the bare walls over the book cases. There were three quotes etched into the wall, and Lucinda recalled reading them over and over again. “Wise birds whisper,” she read, “Rage of fire,” on another part. Finally, “Strength of ice.” The words didn’t mean anything, yet they gave her a kind of comfort. No one knew why the words had appeared, but it had been in the early days of the tower’s formation.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Audiobooks – Three Reviews

Tags

Adventure, audiobook, Book Review, E.J. Stevens, Eve Langlais, fairy tale, humor, Melanie Karsak, paranormal, psychic, retelling, romance, scifi romance, Steampunk

June was audiobook month. It’s a thing. During June, many authors will promote their audiobooks by offering free audiobooks through giveways or in exchange for a review. I was lucky enough to add three audiobooks to my library during June, so I thought I’d do some quick reviews. My reviews are all unbiased.

About Curiouser and Curiouser 

To save the Hatter, Alice must work with the one man she despises so much that she might still love him.

Alice thought she’d turned over a new leaf. No more working for Jabberwocky. No more making deals with the ruthless Queen of Hearts. No more hanging around The Mushroom with tinkers, tarts, scoundrels, and thieves in London’s criminal underbelly. But she’d been bonkers to dream.

Hatter’s reckless behavior leads Alice back to the one person she never wanted to see again, Caterpillar. Pulled into Caterpillar’s mad schemes, Alice must steal a very big diamond from a very royal lady. The heist is no problem for this Bandersnatch. But protecting her heart from the man she once loved? Impossible.

Sometimes love is mad.

See how New York Times bestselling author Melanie Karsak re-imagines Lewis Carroll’s classic fairy tale, Alice in Wonderland, with a steampunk twist! Join us at The Mushroom in gaslamp Victorian London.

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Review of Curiouser and Curiouser

5 stars

I loved this steampunk version of Alice in Wonderland, maybe even better than C.S. Lewis’ original story. I was introduced to Melanie Karsak’s writing with her steampunk novel Chasing the Star Garden, so I was quite certain I would enjoy more steampunk from the author. In fact, there is a very loose connection between the two stories, but if you blink, you might miss it.

The book blurb is a very good review of the plot, so I won’t bore you with any such details. What I will say is that Caterpillar, Hatter, Rabbit, the Knave and especially Alice are all more human than their knicknames would have you believe. Human with all sorts of history and flaws. And Alice is caught up with them all, but most especially with Caterpillar, also known as William. She left him once and now finds she must work with him again. Can she trust him? Should she? Especially since he stirs up all sorts of feelings.

It seems she has no choice so Alice will embrace her situation head on. I do like this character and if she reminds you of a certain other literary character, then I am certain that is purposeful. Even facing the Queen of Hearts.

Now, if you know the original story, you know the Queen of Hearts is heartless and savage. Double that, no triple that in Curiouser and Curiouser. She is definitely one evil @*&%#! Sorry, I don’t usually use language like that but sometimes it is warranted. This evil one has no genius to back her up. Instead, she uses the brains of the Countess, another quite interesting character.

Narrator Lesley Parkin had just the right accent(s). I especially like that she does not try to sound like a man for the male characters, but instead, uses light inflection nuances to differentiate between characters. As an audiobook, Curiouser and Curiouser was well done.

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About Frostbite

This spooky prequel short story is the perfect introduction to the award-winning Ivy Granger Psychic Detective urban fantasy series.

When a client claims that her house is being haunted, Ivy tries to keep her mind open and her weapons handy. If her psychic gifts and recent cases have taught her anything, it’s that you’re better off arming yourself for the unexpected.

Will our favorite psychic detective face down murderous ghosts? Anything is possible in Harborsmouth.

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Review of Frostbite

4 stars

I have read just one other book in the Ivy Granger series, but always wanted to read more. I find Ivy Granger, psychic detective, to be a fascinating character. At once wise about the paranormal, but also learning. I guess that is what a detective does – learns – in order to be smart enough to solve the mystery.

The prequel, is really just a short story and doesn’t really serve as an introduction to the series so much as a taste of it. It is pretty good tasty though. And if you really want an introduction, there is a very short creepy marketing spiel for Harborsmouth. If you like ghosts and things that go freaky in the night, then Frostbite is your thing. Along with the entire series I would think.

Melanie A. Mason does well as a narrator. Her voice is youngish but not so young that she sounds youthful. Thank heavens! Ivy Granger Psychic Dectective does well in the audiobook form and if I read more in the series, I might go that way.

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About The First Mate’s Accidental Wife

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Locate a kidnapper’s vessel. Rescue the woman. Return her home. Collect a reward.

Instead, the First Mate of the Gypsy Moth finds himself married to a galactic crime lord’s daughter and fighting off those that would make her a widow.

Busy watching his back, while keeping her safe, Damon misses the deadliest attack of all. The one on his heart. She’s taken it, and he’s got to decide whether giving up his freedom is worth the price of love.

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Review of The First Mate’s Accidental Wife

3 stars

I read Eve Langlais for the laughs. Not because I want a complex plot or an intense love story. Just the laughs. In The First Mate’s Accidental Wife, there are plenty of fish/squid/sushi jokes about the Kanishqui, the alien race the heroine Mishi is rescued from. Also, believe it or not, the universe is crazy for chocolate, which I find to be both silly and obvious. But the banter between Mishi and First Mate rescuer Damon, was the best. They start off antagonizing each other and end up merely irritating each other, but will all sorts of love and respect behind the words. And humor.

There is quite a bit of coarse language which I can do without. When reading, it is easy to overlook, and I often do. But is is not so easy when listening to the audiobook.

I did not care for Logan McAllister’s narration. His reading was very slow. I turned the playback speed to 1.25 and that helped, though it results in clipped words. However, it was good enough and the story was entertaining enough for me to finish listening.

The First Mate’s Accidental Wife is a short novel so if you are looking for some pure entertainment, it may be just the book for you.

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Why I Write Steampunk by Juli D. Revezzo, Author of Vesta’s Clockwork Companions – Guest Post with Excerpt

Tags

excerpt, guest post, Juli D. Revezzo, romance, Steampunk

Juli D. Revezzo is a new-to-me author who has a new steampunk novel out.  I do love a good steampunk adventure and have Vesta’s Clockwork Companions on my TBR list.  Check out the great cover!

Guest Post

Why I Write Steampunk

To ask this question goes to asking about my influences and whole history as a reader and a writer. Once upon a time, while I was bored in study hall, a teacher and I got to talking about what I liked to read. Honestly, I don’t remember how the subject came up, but you get the idea. Anyway, he recommended I read the work of science fiction author Julian May. Around the same time I was reading Isaac Asimov’s Robots of Dawn and also a friend had just turned me on to Michael Moorcock’s Elric series(and hello, the alt-history fantasies Von Bek and Gloriana!), an author whose works I have never fallen out of love with. I was also a fan of Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, and of course, Star Wars, to name a few (and, though admittedly, this was a much later discovery, the gone-but-still-very-much-loved series Firefly). All these things hit my emerging writer’s mind at roughly the same time. (*Insert comic book Zap Pow! Sound effects here!)

After high school, I spent a few years in college studying literature and art history, and world history (specifically the Renaissance and Victorian age) in general. Somehow, the romance of the Victorian age, and the gadgets of science fiction, and the magic in the various fantasy novels I devoured, all this merged altogether in the first couple manuscripts I wrote, and those I first tried to submit. Problem was (and this will date me), back then, what the heck to call it?

Oh, right. Now we call it steampunk. 🙂  (Alas, at the time, though some authors were using it, I don’t recall that word showing up in many, if any, Writer’s Guides To….)

Why do I write steampunk? If you ask me, except for a few experiments into Urban Fantasy (with my witches of Antique Magic, and fantasy romance with my Celtic Stewards Chronicles), I think I always have!

Heck, let’s be honest, it’s just plain fun to let my worlds and characters wander off the edges of the map and see what happens. Give me a couple kernels, a blender, a dash of magic and flash, and I’m a happy gal.

The result of all this blending is my latest steampunk romance, Vesta’s Clockwork Companions, which combines historical romance hallmarks, with a steampunk aesthetic, and maybe a nod or two to Dickens and Thackery. *rubs hands* The result was such fun to write!

S’cuze me, now. I have to catch an airship for a date for tea with Mr. Tesla and Merlin. 😉

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About Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

When Vesta Bartlett, a wealthy alchemist and inventor, arrives in England to finalize an arranged marriage and help overhaul a family friend’s outdated ironworks, she never expects to find the family so secretive, nor to develop feelings for her fiancé’s younger brother, Henry.

But the growing attraction between Vesta and Henry is just the beginning of their troubles. Things really heat up when they’re drawn into a secret project for Queen Victoria’s military, one that requires Vesta’s knowledge of clockwork and Henry’s iron.

An epidemic has wiped out all the dogs in Britain, and beyond. If the military fail in their effort to restore the species, a clockwork creation may be all that stands in the way of a world without canine companionship.

Are Vesta and Henry up to the challenge?

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Excerpt from Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

(FROM CHAPTER SEVEN)

Ahead, Acton led him up a staircase that wound around the premises. They ended by traversing a hall. At the terminus of the hall, Henry found another door, unassuming, like any in his home. Except another set of armed guards again barred their way.

Acton reached into his coat as he approached and produced a circular device. A small button on its face caused it to glow with a faint yellowish light. He presented this device to the guards. “We’re here on the major general’s orders.”

The guard turned his attention from the device to stare at Henry. “And him?”

Acton laid a hand to his arm. “He’s a new recruit.”

The guard on the left—a tall man with cropped blond hair—nodded and pulled the door open. “Five minutes.”

“I’m what now?” Henry asked as Acton escorted him inside.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be all right.”

“How so? It sounds to me like you’re trying to induct me into the corps.” He frowned and turned back to the doors. “Forget it. I have no military ambitions.”

“You have no ambitions I’m aware of. Except, maybe, to help your family.”

The new voice drew his attention. Deep, yet there was an odd tone about it, enough to stop Henry and intrigue him. His first glimpse of the speaker satisfied the curiosity even as it raised new questions.

Major General Charles Gordon rolled up to a desk in an old-fashioned wheelchair. His eyes, his air, all the same as portraits he’d seen of the man in the newspapers. And yet, he was different from the other men around him, even aside from the fact that he was rumored dead.

The gold emblems of rank dotting his coat, the epaulets, these alone would tell anyone the major general’s identity. None of these held as much interest for Henry as the man’s face.

Or lack thereof. His head, from the outline of a hairline, to his lips and chin, all these, some clever surgeon had replicated in brass. The brass continued down the man’s neck, to meet up under the dark jacket. The hands settled on the desk and folded together, likewise, all brass.

Henry met the major general’s gaze. “By the gods!”

“You might sssssay that.”

The voice issuing from the lips and slurring all his s’s made him sound like a lethargic teapot. Henry didn’t know how else to describe it. All other explanation sounded childish even as he thought about it. Wondering what caused the difference, Henry found himself trying to investigate the speaker further. “Sir, I mean … forgive me, I didn’t mean to stare.”

“You wished to see us, Major General,” Acton said, breaking into Henry’s verbal astonishment. “Here we are.”

“Yes, Mr. Wren, I’m pleassssed with what I’m hearing of your work with our men.”

Henry saw no visible reason for why the major general dragged out his “s” that way. He’d never heard of the man having a lisp. Metal tubes and thin wires ran down his cheeks and neck to disappear into the chair behind him. He didn’t want to offend him by trying to take a closer look at the tech. A general guess that his speech was helped along by some sort of steam-powered mechanism involving those attachments was the best Henry’s imagination could supply. But he saw no hint of steam exhaust in the man’s vicinity.

Curious. I wonder if Vesta has ever seen such a contraption.

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About the Author

Juli D. Revezzo writes fantasy and romantic stories filled in with elements garnered from a lifetime love affair with magic, myth, witches, wizards, and fated lovers and legend. She is the author of The Antique Magic series and the Paranormal Romance Celtic Stewards Chronicles series, steampunk historical romances VESTA’S CLOCKWORK COMPANIONS, WATCHMAKER’S HEART, and short stories published in ETERNAL HAUNTED SUMMER, LUNA STATION QUARTERLY, among others. She is also a member of the Independent Author Network and the Magic Appreciation Tour.

Find Juli at

Website: https://www.julidrevezzo.com/
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