Castellan the Black and his Wise Draconic Tips on Life #BrainfluffCastellanthe Black #WiseDraconicTipsonLife #PickyEaters

While a battle-hardened alpha lord is obviously a dangerous opponent, don’t underestimate his beta equivalent. To have survived multiple combat situations, the beta will have resorted to sneakiness. So you probably won’t see his attack coming until it’s too late.

Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my Picky Eaters series. All proceeds for the duration of the publishing life of Picky Eaters, first book in the series, are donated to mental health charities. The second book, Flame & Blame, and the third book, Trouble With Dwarves, are now available.

Review of INDIE Ebook Frozen Stiff Drink – Book 6 of the Braxton Campus Mysteries by James J. Cudney #BrainfluffINDIEbookreview #FrozenStiffDrinkbookreview

This is a review I wrote back in February 2021 – before I got sick…

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this murder mystery series, see my reviews of Academic Curveball, Broken Heart Attack , Flower Power Trip, Mistaken Identity Crisis and Haunted House Ghost featuring single parent Kellan who inconveniently keeps tripping over corpses in this otherwise quiet corner of academia. I had been hoping that after the drama surrounding his marriage, he’d now have a chance of happiness with someone else. However a storm hits Wharton County and Kellan gets swept up in it…

BLURB: A winter blizzard barrels toward Wharton County with a vengeance. Madam Zenya predicted the raging storm would change the course of Kellan’s life, but the famed seer never could’ve prepared him for all the collateral damage. Nana D disappears after visiting a patient at Willow Trees, leaving behind a trail of confusion. When the patient turns up dead, and second body is discovered beneath the snowbanks, Kellan must face his worst fears. What tragedy has befallen his beloved grandmother?

REVIEW: I’ve cut short the blurb, as I think it is just a tad on the chatty side – and if you are following this series, it would be such a shame for certain plotpoints to surface here, rather than within the story.

Once more, Kellan is put through the wringer. I’m aware that this series is shelved as a cosy mystery – and that’s true in as much as there is no undue gore, bad language or graphic sex. But that doesn’t prevent poor old Kellan going through yet more misery. However, Cudney is very adept at also introducing snarky exchanges to diffuse some of the angst that is building up as family members go missing, hateful characters taunt our put-upon protagonist and family members are targeted by a nasty smear campaign. And that’s only some of what goes on in this fast-moving story.

I whipped through this one at a fair clip, as it really grabbed me. Cudney is very good at producing an almost endless procession of likely suspects that could be in the frame for the murders. By now, there are a fair number of characters we have got to know throughout the six books so far. And Cudney manages to ensure that a fair number of them have strong motives to want to kill the victims. No wonder the Chief of Police, the fair April, is getting a tad frayed around the edges…

As ever, I really like the fact that this small community is nicely intergenerational. The feisty Nana D, as a seventy-something year old, is now the Mayor and we regularly meet up with her contemporaries, who also are involved in community life. It’s so refreshing to find this age-group fairly represented as fully functioning members of society with something to offer – and Nana’s resilience and refusal to be overwhelmed in the face of the woes piling up for the Ayrwick family is lovely to see. Yes… I’ve probably connected with spiky Nana D on a level that is not necessarily completely healthy.

Just a word of warning. While this book completely ties up the murder mysteries and we know exactly whodunit and why – this story is left on a cliff-hanger ending, where all sorts of other major issues are unresolved. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit torn – I generally loathe these sorts of endings. However, I’m prepared to give Cudney a pass due to the fact that he’s provided a thumping good plot in this particular slice of Kellan’s adventures. Highly recommended for fans of well plotted murder mysteries – but whatever you do, don’t crash into this series at this stage. There are so many characters so tightly intertwined with an eventful backstory, you’ll probably sink without trace under the weight of trying to keep up with who did what to whom, causing what’s-her-face wanting to do something else to what’s-his-name. You’d be far better putting this one back on the shelf and reaching instead for the first book, Academic Curveball.
9/10

Review of INDIE Ebook Quarter Share – Book 1 of the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell #BrainfluffINDIEbookreview #QuarterSharebookreview

This is one of the reviews that I wrote during spells in the last three years when I was well enough to do so – but then got sick again and didn’t post it.

BLURB: When his mother dies in a flitter crash, eighteen-year-old Ishmael Horatio Wang must find a job with the planet company or leave the system–and NerisCo isn’t hiring. With credits running low, and prospects limited, he has just one hope…to enlist for two years with a deep space commercial freighter. Ishmael, who only rarely visited the Neris Orbital, and has never been off-planet alone before, finds himself part of an eclectic crew sailing a deep space leviathan between the stars.

REVIEW: This isn’t the first time I’d read this author’s work – I enjoyed The Wizard’s Butler. But I doubt that I would have made the hop sideways from fantasy to space opera, without Himself having done so, first. And I’ll join in the general chorus that resounds about this series of books – it really has a different feel from most space opera. There are no aliens, no spectacular space battles. It’s a story of a teenage boy in first-person viewpoint, who is just a bit too old to get any proper help when he is unexpectedly orphaned – and how he fares when he joins a merchant spaceship. It’s all about how to make coffee, coping with watch patterns, making friends and money.

Ishmael is clearly very clever and rather precocious in that way only children often are, especially if they’ve been especially close to a single parent. And his relationship with his mother is key. She was an ancient literature professor and obviously a strong, opinionated woman with a lot of passion, who loved her son very much. I inhaled this book and then went straight onto the next. I don’t do that very often – and I’m delighted to discover that there are a fair few books in this series. When reading this one, I kept turning the pages as I got lost in the world, rooting for Ishmael to succeed on board, while he continued growing up. I’m very much looking forward to the next book, Half Share.

Highly recommended for fans of space opera, especially if you enjoy books where it’s more about the world rather than what happens in it. 9/10

After writing the above review, I went ahead and read the read all the books in this twelve-book series, which charts Ishmael’s progress as a merchanter and takes the story in some unexpected places. It’s stayed in my memory as an unusual space opera reading experience, but overall very enjoyable.

Castellan the Black and his Wise Draconic Tips on Life #BrainfluffCastellanthe Black #WiseDraconicTipsonLife #PickyEaters

Generally, it’s beneath your dignity as a fit dragon lord to go stealing kills from other creatures – but if you must, then remember to avoid a basilisk’s intended dinner as they poison their prey. If it doesn’t kill you, it’ll incapacitate you and their other nasty trick is to turn their victims to stone.

Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my Picky Eaters series. All proceeds for the duration of the publishing life of Picky Eaters, first book in the series, are donated to mental health charities. The second book, Flame & Blame, and the third book, Trouble With Dwarves, are now available.

Castellan the Black and his Wise Draconic Tips on Life #BrainfluffCastellanthe Black #WiseDraconicTipsonLife #PickyEaters

When paying court to an attractive young queen, whatever you do – don’t flirt with her mother. Not only will your prospective mate be rightly incensed at your disrespect, so will her sire. And if he’s successfully raised a family, he’s liable to be a lethal, more experienced fighter than you.

Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my Picky Eaters series. All proceeds for the duration of the publishing life of Picky Eaters, first book in the series, are donated to mental health charities. The second book, Flame & Blame, and the third book, Trouble With Dwarves, are now available.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 3rd April, 2024 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week’s Can’t-Wait offering:

Myth-Touched – Book 2 of the Shadows of Eireland series by Joanna Maciejewska – release date – 20th April 2024

#urban fantasy adventure #feisty heroine #post-apocalyptic setting

BLURB: In the war, being hunted by mythborn was day to day life. Peacetime had changed things, but myth-touched Kaja never expected to be hunted alongside the mythborn…

With her life hanging by a thread, Kaja had little time to consider Eithne’s offer of aid. Now, free of her affliction, she bears the consequences of that decision. Stuck among her former enemies, caught navigating the nuances of lies and politics, she’s presented with little choice but to accept the out offered by Cathal, leader of the Scáthanna.

But Cathal and his team have troubles of their own as an invisible enemy haunts their steps. If Kaja helps them, she’ll be targeted as well, and when dealing with a faceless enemy, the only way to survive is by carefully choosing allies and tempering trust.

Failure could cost their lives.

I’m a fan of Joanna’s writing – her cracking Sand & Sorcery series, Pacts Arcane and Otherwise, is one of my all-time favourites – see my reviews of By the Pact, Scars of Stone, Shadows of Kaighal and Demon Siege, in addition to my review of the first book in this urban fantasy adventure set in Ireland, Humanborn. So when I saw this one was shortly to become available, I immediately pre-ordered a copy as I’ve often thought of Kaja and her plight since reading the first book. This is one I’m keenly anticipating!

Castellan the Black and his Wise Draconic Tips on Life #BrainfluffCastellanthe Black #WiseDraconicTipsonLife #PickyEaters

You may be in the habit of furling sisters or dams within your wings in the privacy of your lair – but when out in company, keep your wings well and truly folded across your back and nowhere near any queens. No lord wants to be accused of being a lecherous wing fondler…

Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my Picky Eaters series. All proceeds for the duration of the publishing life of Picky Eaters, first book in the series, are donated to mental health charities. The second book, Flame & Blame, and the third book, Trouble With Dwarves, are now available.

Review of INDIE Ebook Nikoles – Book 2 of the Tuyo series by Rachel Neumeier #BrainfluffINDIEbookreview #Nikolesbookreview

I was lucky enough to be offered a review copy of TUYO, which I absolutely loved – it made my Outstanding Reads of the Year list in 2020. Given that I read 184 books and only sixteen books were on that list, it gives you an idea of just how MUCH I loved this book. So when I happened to see that Nikoles was available – I grabbed a copy.

BLURB: For generations the Ugaro of the winter country have traded peacefully with the Lau of the summer lands. But now a fatal mistake has created bitterness and hatred on both sides of the river, threatening to destroy a peace that has become tenuous. Nikoles Ianan realizes, too late, that he should have prevented his own people’s unforgivable trespass – he should at least have tried. Now it seems impossible for a single Lau soldier to do anything to prevent the escalating tragedy … until the most famous scepter-holder of the summer country arrives.

REVIEW: There is one main character who features from the first book – but to be honest, I don’t think you need to read TUYO to find this an engrossing and satisfying read. Neumeier’s immersive, accomplished writing style means you won’t flounder and as the books don’t strictly follow on from each other, but instead build on the world and provide more information about the differences between the Lau people of summer and the Ugaro of the winter country.

The initial difficulty that introduces us to Nikoles immediately pulled me into the story and held me throughout. I quickly bonded with this thoughtful, sensitive young man who realises that he has made a terrible mistake – and then struggles to try and put it right in the face of an unsympathetic lord and a hostile civilian population. Neumeier is very good at writing conflicted young heroes so they have just the right amount of self awareness not to be thoughtless thugs, but aren’t too angsty to be realistic as military men.

It was a delight to see the main supporting character make a major appearance again – and this time from the viewpoint of someone quite different, so we get a new perspective on his character. This is the storyline that I would have liked to have seen developed a little more. There was quite a build-up to this encounter and in the event, I felt it was wrapped up just a little bit too quickly. I would have appreciated seeing more of the antagonist, given that we were told repeatedly just how powerful and dangerous she was. However, my sense of disappointment could also have arisen simply because I didn’t want this book to end. I have knocked a point off, which still makes it a 5-star read, though not a solid 10. That doesn’t prevent this being a thorough joy to read and I am now delighted to discover that this is an established series with another four books available. Highly recommended for fantasy fans who enjoy something genuinely different and well written.
9/10

Castellan the Black and his Wise Draconic Tips on Life #BrainfluffCastellanthe Black #WiseDraconicTipsonLife #PickyEaters

To those who refute that dragons are the most civilised and intelligent species in the world – come and tell me that to my face. And be prepared to back up your wet-witted denial with claw and flame…

Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my Picky Eaters series. All proceeds for the duration of the publishing life of Picky Eaters, first book in the series, are donated to mental health charities. The second book, Flame & Blame, and the third book, Trouble With Dwarves, are now available.

Castellan the Black and his Wise Draconic Tips on Life #BrainfluffCastellanthe Black #WiseDraconicTipsonLife #PickyEaters

Appearances can be deceptive. Frost giants enjoy lolling around on floes creaking to one another, giving the impression they are slow and easy-going. In reality, they are quick to take offence, can move very fast and are vicious, deadly fighters. Avoid them.

Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my Picky Eaters series. All proceeds for the duration of the publishing life of Picky Eaters, first book in the series, are donated to mental health charities. The second book, Flame & Blame, and the third book, Trouble With Dwarves, are now available.