Book Review: The Jewel and The Comet

 This book was quite a surprise for me. It was advertised as "A quirky new space opera featuring charming characters and sarcastic spaceships"  SIGN ME UP. 

I am going to add in that this book also has quite a lot of reference to gendered-ness, pronouns and the kink community, which I did not expect from the description. While I didn't have an issue with this, somehow, I did not really expect it to be essentially the main focus at the beginning while we are also setting up the story.  I especially didn't expect it to feature so heavily in most of the chapters. I think that this is mainly just sort of an expectation issue rather than it not working for the story.  

Tim Pratt expands on his prior novel "The Knife and The Serpent" but this book can be read as a Stand-alone. Readers meet Vivy  ( a super spy!) and Gwen/Glenn (a gender-fluid grad student who's perfectly normal, except for being trained for a super-secret society, and being active in the kink community.) While these two items don't readily pair up like Peanut Butter and Jelly, I feel that Pratt does make it work. 

Glenn/Gwen and Vivy are dispatched on high stakes missions and separated from each other. For Vivy this is pretty standard, but for Gwen/Glenn, it is completely new and they only have a sentient space ship for help.  Of course, the Space Ship is one snarky ship as well. 

This is a wild ride- a character focused adventure where it seems like anything can happen. I did like that despite the heavy character growth focus, this isn't just a book using Space as a backdrop- the multi-verse is unique and fascinating, in fact I found the descriptions of the multiverse and it's workings to be my favorite part of the novel! 

   I appreciated they way Pratt draws a character and really brings the characters to life on the page.  The plot moves at a very fast pace, and the story is well imagined. If you're interested in a futuristic story with a bite (a kinky bite that is) - this will eb one you'll want to put on your TBR. 

I am so appreciative to Net Galley and Angry Robot for the Advanced Reader Copy for me to read and review. 

STATS

First Published  August 18, 2026 

Pages: 400

Available as an Audio Book : Unsure  

Trigger Warnings:  violence, murder, death, references and descriptions of kink community.

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)  

July Reading Wrap Up

  I KNOW we are 4 days into August but I think I still have time for a quick reading wrap up. 

This "new job" has really got me turned around.  I broke my own rule about requesting audio only, and thus I find myself buried in actual books that I need to read with my actual eyes. And then, I also have to make various reviews. Whew. 

I am not doing the request-a-pal-loo-za again. Because it means I am doing...small videos like this. 

Instead of more interesting ones like THIS. 

And... I'm behind on all sort of reviews. 

So here we are. In July I finished 14 books. 

Books in Translation:  ZERO  I took NONE. I am so sad about this, and since August is Women in Translation Month, I am hopeful for my August. 

Books by Diverse Authors: Also seems to have taken a huge hit.  I read 4 books by authors who I could discern that they are Diverse in some way 28% Not terrible, but I wanted it to be better. 

One of my favorites was indeed Road to Ruin by Hana Lee.  This book is criminally underrated.

Books that relate to my Outer Space Theme: 4/14 or another 28%  I'm disappointed that although I tried I failed to finish any instructional, non-fiction books about space, and mostly stuck to the Space Opera style novels.  

Otherwise I read a romance with my Book club which was not the best and not the worst. 

And some top Notch regular fiction.  A Penance for Crows by Shannon Morgan was amazing, as was The Raven Scholar, and Whalesong! 

So while it wasn't a month that moved my goals along that well, it was a very enjoyable one for reading. 

August looks to be a month ot tidying up, and so hopefully there will be plenty of reviews forthcoming!  I want to clear out my NetGalley list! 
 

Book Review: Shadow of Dragons by Jacob Peppers

 I'm usually a bit hesitant to pick up completely unknown authors on Net Galley, but for some reason, I decided I have not had enough dragons in my life. And thus, Shadow of Dragons made it onto my TBR. 

I am extremely grateful to Bookouture Audio and Second Sky Books for this audio version.  My eyes have been having a huge amount of trouble with the air conditioning required in summer these days, and I am reading but very very slowly, so having this on audio meant that I did indeed go on this dragon adventure in my car, while washing dishes and walking the dog. 

 Overall, I enjoyed this story which flows really well.  Our main character is Nolan, an orphan with a chip on his shoulder.  He also had a strange birthmark that occasionally warms his chest when he's upset. He knows that people say it's the mark of the cursed, and he isn't one to argue as his life indeed seems cursed. 

Nolan wants revenge against a man who killed a relative, but frankly speaking, I think Nolan is just angry and can;t find a place for that anger, so- revenge it is. He's living in an empire where dragons had vanished when a group of creatures who use ice and stone invaded and conquered. Life for Nolan is miserable, and one day when he attempts to change it in dramatic fashion he becomes one of the empire's most wanted. 

Luckily for Nolan, he is rescued by a talented Swordsman with a sharp tongued daughter, and together they travel to an area of secrecy- and Nolan learns that "he's got the magic in him" Shenanigans ensue. 

   I did overall enjoy this novel.  After listening to about 3 hours of the book, I really did want to know what happened to Nolan and Sarah, and the Empire.  The dialogue is a bit bumpy- and the honor and valor message is very heavy at times, but in general this is an interesting, engaging fantasy. 

STATS

First Published  August 4, 2026 

Pages: 392

Available as an Audio Book : Yes 

Trigger Warnings:  violence, murder, death, fire injury, parental death, child death, 

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)  

Book Review Vermilion Flames by Adam Fernandez

  I saw this audiobook on Net Galley and I was immediately interested- A complex space opera with lots of political intrigue?  Yes. 

I was really glad to have an audiobook version, as I have had so many "eyeball"  advanced reader copies lately/ 

    This starts off strong with a pair of adventure seeking teens on Mars stumbling out into a restricted area and not fully appreciating the severity of their lark. The teens are punished and sent to a religious training order, which is really much better than what they deserve, but- they are both from high ranking families from different planets. Readers then jump between several other points of view as this Space Empire stands on the brink of rebellion. This novel is very reminiscent of Dune, so if you have been wanting more Dune (but not exactly DUNE) this could be for you. With a set up that is part Crusades, part Bridgerton, and part Roman Empire, there's a lot to occupy a reader's senses.

This was narrated by Eden Gabay.  Gabay has a strong voice and I felt that the narration was excellent. It was clear, and easy to follow along with. 

I wanted to love this novel, and I did start out really enjoying it. For me, the switching between points of view and also the timelines a bit made the narrative a bit more difficult to follow than I would have preferred. In addition, I found the lack of space details- for a Space Opera to be a bit unusual. Somehow Mars, Venus, and more have all solved the problems of gravity, oxygen and toxic solar wind fairly easily and characters are mostly strolling in water gardens without a care. For many readers this will not matter one bit, but it did stick out for me.  Despite this, I still enjoyed this story of intrigue, scheming and dreaming and I think that it will appeal to many readers. 

STATS

First Published  2/2024

Pages: 362

Available as an Audio Book : Yes 14 hrs 

Trigger Warnings:  violence, murder, death, fire injury, parental death, child death, poison

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)  

Book Review: Whalesong by Miles Cameron

 So Many Thanks to Saga for providing me with an E-copy of this novel for me to read and review!

It really isn't any surprise, given that I really liked book one and two in this series that I really loved Whalesong! 

Whalesong takes off right after the end of book 2 Deep Black. While Cameron does give enough context that a reader could pick up book three independently, I think it's far more enjoyable to have read books 1 and 2. 

   So as this is book 3 in a series, there are going to be some minor spoilers, but I will attempt to not give away any of the excellent plot. 

     The set up in this book was a bit slower than the first two- Our crew is now free of their contract, and readers find them pursuing multiple different lives - some outside of service, and some taking on new roles across the universe. Up until about 40% I felt like I was actually missing some of the crew, but Cameron of course, brings things full circle  and the narrative really sped up at about 50%-  and if I am being honest, without the slower set up in the first half of the book, the second half would not have been as easy to follow.  I would not have had as much fun as I did with it. I will particularly say there is a moment when Zhao- a character who seemed to be basically a supporting character, rose to Main character status, and at that point, I just fell in love with her and the entire plot.  At that point, I found it hard to put down and I had to finish.  I did feel that this is an excellent series to turn into a TV drama (anyone listening?) 

    What can readers expect?

 - An extension of this Space Opera with introduction of some new players. Continued growth and development of characters we already know. 

 - Well written, pulse pounding action and battle scenes

 - An underlying very human love story

 - Hard Sci- Fi elements of insertion points, space fuel, space weapons, the realities of gravity and space travel and more. 

 - Military Sci-Fi elements- political intrigue, battle strategy, space weapons, alliances and spies.

 - Soft Sci-Fi elements focusing on deep character development, relationships, ethics and linguistics in a space setting. 

   Cameron had published this before, but it is getting a re-release from Saga Press with a gorgeous new cover series. I also liked the older covers, but these new covers really are eye grabbing and highlight the wonderful human element that plays out in all of these books.  This one is released August 4th, and I am sure I want a shelf copy! 

STATS

First Published  08/04/2026

Pages: 384

Available as an Audio Book : Most Likely - have not seen the audio yet. 

Trigger Warnings:  violence, murder, death, PTSD, vomit, blood, near death, AI systems gone rogue, aliens, treason. 

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)  

Book Review: A Penance for Crows By Shannon Morgan

 What happens when a "weird girl" grows up? 

A Penance of Crows by Shannon Morgan explores that, giving readers an engrossing gothic-esque thriller set in an insular community - creating almost a locked room mystery- where the room is not a physical space, but the insular community where our story takes place. 

The unique cover was designed by Layla Anderson - I'm not so sure I love it, but I love that 

it isn't AI. 

Set on an island at the tip of the Beara Peninsula, in a highly suspicious and religious community, we meet Grizela, an "outsider" who's lived on the island for almost 40 years. 

Grizela is odd, unmarried and working as an artist. She's not one to socialize and she doesn't suffer fools.  She's got a soft spot for a group of teen-aged girls who have few options within the community. She is a working artist, and provides lessons for the girls on the Island. 

Oh.  The island is populated with crows.  And while much of the community is firmly attached to the church, they also remain firmly attached to the crows, and the fae. 

It that set up doesn't give you some chills, I'm not sure what will!

Our story opens with Grizela noting some odd Crow behavior and coming upon a dead body on the shore. She's quite shocked.  Grizela does her duty, calling it in and getting people involved, even moving the body so the tide doesn't take it away. It's lovely that Grizela is the main character, she's well past 30, but the author doesn't constantly discuss how much the character's body has changed. She's a perfectly imperfect human, living a life that is so interesting, we all are wanting to know about it!

All sorts of creepy shenanigans start to occur. Are these occurrences pranks, or is something else happening?   Island secrets are brought to life, and suspicions run high.  Grizela finds that in order to protect those that she cares deeply for, she must confront some uncomfortable truths about her past. 

A Penance of Crows is well plotted, and kept drawing me in for more and more. It is an excellent blend of Supernatural terror, thriller, and mystery.  (And Crows!, we have Crows!) 

Super Thanks to Tantor Audio  for the ALC.  I loved this one more than I expected to! 

STATS

First Published  07/28/2026

Pages: 336

Available as an Audio Book : ~ 10 hrs 

Trigger Warnings:  violence, murder, death, hyper-religiousity, mention of abortion, alcohol use/ abuse. 

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)  

Book Review: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

  I soft DNF this back in May.  I was overly stressed out and I thought after reading the first chapter or so that I was going to like it but I didn't have time for it. 

Interestingly, I thought from that first chapter or so that I knew where this story was going.  It actually seemed like a fairly predictable romantasy  where the exiled girl  and the guard assigned to make sure she stayed exiled would fall in love an escape.  I was ready for that.

But no. 

The exiled girl stays exiled.  And our first plot twist emerges just pages into this tome. I should have realized at that point that this was not your average "Romantasy" where the Main Male character burns the world down for his love. I didn't.  

Instead, our main character is the woman who penned the exile order. Not the woman who decided she should be exiled. Simply the woman who created the documents for the task. In this day an age where a lot of people bark out that they were "just doing their job" the repercussions of this one act of "doing her job" are interesting to examine as they unfold over time. 

But, I digress a bit. This is really a bit of an EPIC fantasy novel.  It is over 600 pages, and because I had a 2 week audiobook loan, I listened to this one pretty much non-stop to be sure I could return it on time.  In the end, I put all other projects aside to finish because I wanted to know what happened and returned the book 9 days early.  It really was that good. 

Readers are taken to a land where dragon magic is real, wild and dangerous. We arrive as seven exceptional warriors, philosophers, strategists are joining a traditional series of trials to replace the current ruler. Each competitor represents the best of their "house".  Houses are tied to various animals and it's said that the people reflect the values/skills/attributes of their animals.  If that all sounds a bit strange, well- it is, but it works, and the best thing to do is just jump in and enjoy the journey. Ultimately each contender- and the people aligned with the contenders are all seeking power. 

Who will win?  What will winning look like? What will be the cost of the win?  Will it be worth it? 

5/5 stars  I wish I had read this one sooner. 

STATS

First Published  4/15/2025

Pages: 672

Available as an Audio Book : ~ 24 hrs 

Trigger Warnings:  violence, blood, body injury, death, Genocide,  Xenophobia, drug use, mild sexual innuendo, death of child, death of parent, supernatural animals.

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)