As I mentioned in my wrap up October wasn’t a great reading month for me, however, I did change my opinion on one book that I re-read this month.
A Shiver of Snow and Sky by Lisa Lueddecke *** – I didn’t know anything about this book before picking it up. From the synopsis, I know this story takes place in Skane where the sky lights up different colours, these colours correspond to the mood of the Goddess. Green is good, blue means a storm is coming and red is a warning. The last time the sky turned red was 17 years ago when our main character Osa was born, but the sky turns red again and she has to solve what it means before the horrors associated with the red sky are unleashed upon Skane once more.
2. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson *** – The opening to Sorcery of Thorns introduces us to Elisabeth, an orphan who is now an apprentice to the Great Library of Summershall, kept by the Director herself. Elisabeth wants to become a warden to keep protect and guard the magical test housed in the library and she has less than a year to prove herself. At the start of the novel a new grimoire is being added to the Library: The Book of Eyes which holds the power to read and control the minds of others. While the book tries to sway her she holds put longer than most but as they seal it away Elisabeth has the feeling that she hasn’t seen the last of this book. Many of the other librarians think Elisabeth has an unnatural attachment to the books within the library but she does see it that way. However, when a magister comes to the library Elisabeth seizes her chance to see on in the flesh. It turns out he wasn’t what she was expecting and seems quite nice when he helps her avoid detection and not get caught. When he performs magic she finds it to be beautiful rather than the horrid act the librarians describe it as. I can already smell the romance and can’t wait to see where this goes.
3. Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean *** – I have read Empress of all Seasons before, but I was excited to re-read it. The opening to Empress of all Seasons introduced us to Mari; a yokai demon who wants to compete in the competition that is held to find the next empress of Honoku with the crown Prince Taro as the prize the victory claims. We learn from the opening chapters that Mari is an executioner that kills people that come into their territory while Taro is a Crown Prince who has no intention of marrying the girl that wins the contest. Taro also has very different opinions on yokai than his father who likes killing them in the seasonal rooms. We see that neither Taro or Mari fit in with their cultures; Mari doesn’t fit in with the Animal Wives because she doesn’t possess their extraordinary beauty and while she is the executioner she never kills anyone her mother sends to her, rather she uses her friend Akira; a half yokai, half-human to sneak them to safety. Akira we learn is also in love with Mari but hasn’t said anything to her about it. Taro doesn’t fit in with the Palace because he doesn’t see the yokai as monsters, they are just like a human trying to survive in this cruel world and while he doesn’t want to marry he does want to change the way things are.
4. Aquarius by A P Morgan ***** – So I read the first 5 books in this series, but I have been out of this world so long I decided to start over. If you want to read my original reviews they will be linked at the end of this review. Aquarius introduces us to Leslie Boxe, a homicide detective, on her first case as a detective. It turns out a young woman has been murdered in her home, but little does she know that this is the beginning of a string of murders. This is also one of the crime novels I have read that features the killer’s perspective. Things start to get interesting when Leslie and her partner Joe get a call about a second murder with the same M.O. and it seems like the victims are being targeted by their birthdays as nothing else seems to link them together but Leslie now has to find out what the killer is planning and stop him or her before another victim turns up.
5. Pisces by A P Morgan ***** – The opening to Pisces introduces us to a new killer and the person responsible for everything although it is kept purposely vague. Pisces doesn’t open with Leslie or Ryan’s perspective but that of Jesse; a fellow police detective and a friend of Ryan’s. He is the one who learns about supposed suicides turning up, although we know this is the work of the birthday killer. These victims are men who work in finance and live alone made to look like they very convincing committed suicide. As the divorced Jesse picks up his kids Patti and Charlie I had a very bad feeling. We then jump back to the killer’s perspective who seems to be watching Jesse but we don’t know why yet. We get our first clues about the killer’s identity very early on so we know the killer is female and she is using blackmail to make these men kill themselves rather than killing them herself.
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