The Backworlds by M Pax
I just finished The Backworlds by M Pax. Since I read books mainly to escape from my boring reality, I love books that provide such an escape. This one does. I also love characters that are likeable and – you guessed it – these are.
The setting is far into the future when many planets have been colonized – some are less hospitable than others (the ‘backworlds’) as opposed to the supposedly more habitable Foreworlds. You find out that there’s been a war between the foreworlders and the backworlders, but that’s pretty much all you learn about the Foreworlders.
The main character is what seems to be a teenage boy/young man, who has been working for several years in his father’s bar. He belongs to an interesting bioengineered species that isn’t completely human, with ‘living hair’ and some sort of short fur that is pleasant to the touch.
Since life is harsh in the ‘backworlds’, Craze’s father, ungratefully, decides to make his son leave, after taking the younger man’s girlfriend from him. To make sure Craze really leaves, he sets the leaders of their small community on him, with something like cattle prods. Craze is forced to board a ship heading for a space junction, where he will be able to choose his own destination.
Fortunately, Craze meets some very nice avian guys with a ship of their own, who decide to hire him as part of their crew.
People (I use the term loosely) in this ‘universe’ seem to be a bit dishonest but not ruthless enough to kill others, at least not most of them. To me that’s very important. I can’t stress enough how tired I am of ruthless, cruel, cold characters. To me it’s necessary to be able to sympathize with the characters to be able to finish the book (and look forward to reading another by the same author).
I give this book four out of five stars (it’s a relatively short, simple plot), for the fascinating setting, the fascinating characters and excellent writing.
Soulwoven by Jeff Seymour
I recently read the fantasy novel Soulwoven by Jeff Seymour on Wattpad. It’s also available for Kindle and as a paperback from Amazon.
It was a fascinating, well written story, with a magic that I found interesting and different. The main characters were likeable and that’s very important to me. I’d love to read more by the same author. My one complaint is that I felt that there wasn’t complete closure at the end. The story left me with more questions than answers, but I understand there’s a sequel coming, that will probably take care of that problem.
The Only Gold by Tamara Allen
The Only Gold by Tamara Allen was a Kindle freebie that I downloaded last year (I think). It’s not free anymore, but it’s still only 3.74 (US dollars). I have so many books on my TBR list that I had forgotten what sort of book this was. The way it looks once I’ve started reading it, I can’t find the title or the author’s name. It took me a rather long while to figure out what this book was about. In other words, there was a bit of a slow start, but once I got into the book, I found it interesting and well written.
It’s the late 19th century. Jonah Woolner works at a bank in New York. He is content with his life until he’s passed over for a long-awaited promotion. Reid Hylliard shows up out of the blue and annoys Jonah with his charm. Eventually, Reid begins to win him over (as he’s done with everyone else at the bank). Then trouble strikes the bank and Jonah’s relationship with Reid is put under severe strain. Both their lives (and those of others) are threatened, not only the bank.
The fact that it is a slash story and a historic one as well, was a big plus for me. I don’t normally read pure romances – but in combination with historic and/or fantasy it usually works for me.
There’s quite a bit of action (and I mean action, not sex) in this story, but also, to be honest, gay sex, so if you don’t like that, don’t read. Otherwise, I can really recommend this book.
Booklikes, Libib, Leafmarks and more…
Booklikes
I was doing a little squeeing about LIbib a while back. I might as well have squeed (?) a bit about Booklikes as well, because that’s such a wonderful book community too. Everyone on my friend list probably knows about how I came to be looking for alternatives to Amazon-owned Goodreads (and likewise Amazon-owned Shelfari, and LibraryThing which isn’t owned by Amazon, as far as I know). I found several book communities but only these two feel like they’re really worth it.
Leafmarks
Actually, I’m also getting more and more fond of Leafmarks too, but it’s basically an ordinary book community, only a bit nicer than most.
Booklikes
Booklikes includes, apart from the usual, a Tumblr-like blog. At the time I signed up for Booklikes I was still on Tumblr (and on Livejournal) but shortly afterwards I was forced to leave. It was sad, because I’d been there for so many years, but I won’t compromise with my conscience so there was no question about leaving, I just had to do it.
So now at least I have my Booklikes blog (and of course Dreamwidth and WordPress, but people on my friends list must know that by now). Only a few days ago, there was a bit of uproar on the Booklikes site, because the people running the site had had to start putting ads on it. Most people were upset and were asking about adblocker (?) settings. I was just worried about the blog. After all, I can stand ads on the dashboard, but not on my own personal blog. Fortunately, I was reassured by one of the nice people who work there. They consider our blogs our personal area, and won’t use that for advertising. Naturally, they would have been well within their rights if they had, but I’m so very pleased they’ve promised they won’t put anything as ugly as an ad there.
Another thing that is nice about Booklikes is that you feel so close to the admins. If you have a problem or a suggestion, you can either chat with them, or send an offline message to them and they’ll reply to you very soon.
Libib
Libib is a bit different. You can write short comments on your books and post short messages, but my Libib account doesn’t include a blog. I don’t need another one anyway. The other day I sent in my suggestions for improvement on Libib (not that the site isn’t really great already). To my surprise only the day after, I received a polite and friendly email from one of the people behind Libib. The guy said that most of my suggestions were already on their way and that the only one that isn’t, is still being decided on and if it is approved, it will happen next year. I really hadn’t expected such a prompt reply, and it certainly doesn’t make me love Libib any less.
I must admit I love seeing my bookshelves on both sites. On my BL blog, there’s also a little shelf with my latest additions. It’s childish, I know, but I think it’s really cool.
Wattpad is another new acquaintance. Apparently, that’s where everything writing-related is happening these days. You can post both original fiction and fan fiction and you can also read lots of free books. Most people tend to publish novel-length stories, in chapters, but you can also publish shorter work. One thing that’s been stressing me out is that you need a cover for your books. Even the short stories and fan fics. It’s also a very nice feature. My stories look great with their new covers. I have decided to only post work I haven’t published anywhere else, except on my websites, so I have never needed covers for them before. So far I haven’t had any reviews or votes, but it’s fun just to know that my stories are on this site, which is visited by so many people.
It reminds me of AO3, where at least I’m getting kudos regularly, if not actual reviews.
One big advantage of all these sites except for Leafmarks (and even that, to some extent) is that you can add books in other languages than English, and post stories in other languages than English, if you should want to.
Bonds of Fire
The novella Bonds of Fire by Sophie Duncan, is yet another of my recently read ebooks, that I really liked. First a warning: this is a slash story. If you don’t like m/m romance, don’t read it.
This is still a free download on Amazon and Smashwords so if it sounds like fun, go ahead and get it.
The main character, Drekken, is a dragon warrior. He’s bonded to his dragon, Miri. Unfortunately, after a battle, Drekken is separated from his squadron and Miri and is forced to babysit a group of baby dragons. He’s also faced with a growing attraction for one of the two young men who are in charge of the dragon babies. What complicates things is that the two young guys are already in love with each other.
As I said above, I really enjoyed this story. Especially the dragons. And the slash. 
I also liked the way Drekken felt torn between wanting to rejoin his squadron and Miri, and on the other hand, his responsibility to keep the babies safe. The baby dragons are unbelievably cute and the two young guys are unbelievably hot (and so, apparently, is Drekken).
What’s not to like?
Martian Invaders Meet Mom
Martian Invaders Meet Mom by Rebecca Lickiss and Alan Lickiss, is another free speculative fiction novella, that I recently read on my Kindle. This time it’s a children’s science fiction story. Hostile aliens send two male androids to Earth to prepare for an invasion. The androids meet four boys going to school and join them to learn more. After school, they also meet Mom. The invasion plans might have to be put on hold for a while…
This was a fun quick read that I really enjoyed. Just a simple, lighthearted story, exactly right for me at this time.
Years ago, I read two books by Rebecca Lickiss, Eccentric Circles and Never After and I loved them, especially the first one. To my surprise, other reviewers didn’t love them as much as I did. Oh, well, there’s no accounting for taste.
Housewife with a halflife by Alison Wells
Housewife with a halflife is another speculative fiction novel that I’ve recently read on my Kindle.
Susan Strong is a housewife like any other, until her fairy godfather Dave shows up to warn her that she’s literally disintegrating and that her falling apart could be the end of our universe. He’s there to save her, but he’s not having an easy time of it. First of all, Susan doesn’t quite believe him, even though she likes him. Secondly, during a shopping trip, she and her twin boys are sucked through a portal to another universe. Dave is doing all he can to save Susan’s life and get her and her sons back home again, but he’s running out of time and Susan isn’t really cooperating. She has too much to do, trying to cling to her everyday chores.
I really liked this book. The only thing I didn’t enjoy completely, was the way the book kept getting more serious. I preferred the lighthearted beginning. It wasn’t shallow, just more fun. At this time I really need something to take my mind of things, not be forced to contemplate sombre topics like life and death. However, even at the end, which was somewhat a happy one, I still loved this book and can really recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction and humour.
The Glass Wall by Madison Adler/Carmen Caine
For some reason, I neglected to review a number of ebooks that I downloaded for free from Amazon, right after I read them. I’m trying to remedy that now.
Superficially, this book, Beyond the Glass Wall (The Glass Wall), book one in a series of YA urban fantasy books, sounds like any recent YA fantasy book. If I’d read the blurb I probably wouldn’t have bothered reading it. But my list of Kindle freebies is so long and from my view on my Kindle I can’t see what the book is about, just the title. So I did start reading it and I quickly realized that I liked it.
The books starts with the main character, 17-year-old Sydney, moving in with a new foster family. She’s been through this a lot so she’s not all that bothered. However, the family she comes to is very nice and she slowly finds herself warming up to them. Almost right away, she spots a very good-looking guy moving into a house nearby. Sydney soon finds out that he’s far more than just a handsome stranger.
It appears Rafael, the new guy, has superhuman powers, which leads Sydney to suspect he might be some sort of alien, which isn’t quite the case. It takes Sydney a long time to find out exactly what he is. In the meantime, she also meets another extremely handsome guy, Jareth, who is a rock star. He has a mysterious connection to Rafael, though not really a friendly one.
I can’t seem to give this book justice. It still sounds like a cliche. Just take my word for it, this one is really good. I finished it in just a few days, because I wanted to know more about Rafael and Jareth.
I suppose partly it’s because it’s so easy to see everything through Sydney’s eyes. I liked the way she slowly realized that her foster family was different from earlier ones, who she liked, but never felt completely connected to. Right from the start the parents treat her as their own child. Their daughter takes a little longer to connect with Sydney, but she too, comes to view her as a close family member. This book is the first in a series of four. There’s also a prequel, Behind the Mirror, a short story, that is available for free download on Amazon.
No More Brothers (A Serafina Florio Mystery)
Just last night I finished readind this ebook/novella by Susan Russo Anderson. This summer I read the first book in the series about the midwife and private investigator, Serafina Floria, Fina, who lives in mid-19 century Sicily, Death of a Serpent. I have already reviewed that book, so I’ll move on to the novella.
It was great returning to this ‘universe’. I love Serafina and her family and friends. Sometimes though, I’m a little surprised that this era seems so modern. Was it? That’s perfectly possible. Though I’m a bit of a history fan, I can’t say I’ve delved very deeply into this particular time and place. Or maybe the author has let a bit of anachronism sneak into the story. If so, it doesn’t ruin the experience.
Fina has a big family – seven children and a young orphan who is part servant, part family member. She also has her best friend Rosa, who used to be a madam, but has now retired and lives next door to Serafina. Everyone is quite sympathetic except for Fina’s oldest son, who seems to resent his mother’s sleuthing hobby – though it’s not only a hobby – the police commissioner hires her to help on especially puzzling cases.
This story wasn’t quite as fascinating as the first, but I suppose that’s only natural, since it’s so much shorter, but there was a surprise at the end. The novella was only available as a Kindle download. Fortunately I have a Kindle Touch.
I’m looking forward to reading the third part in the series – Death in Bagheria.
The Twistrose Key
Recently, I read the Twistrose Key, by Tone Almhjell. That’s a Norwegian children’s books writer. According to a review by a Norwegian girl, the English original wasn’t very good. I can’t comment on that. I read the Swedish translation. It was good enough that I was taken in. I thought it was a book, originally written in Swedish (or possibly Finland-Swedish), because the setting of the book is clearly not only Nordic, but from the very far North.
To me it seems a bit odd that a Norwegian writer should decide to write a book in English. I have to admit that while I consider my own English quite good, I’d never dare to write a book to be published by a real publisher in any other language than my own. I do, however, write blog posts, shorter short stories and fan fiction in English and occasionally simple, brief comments in discussions in French. Once or twice I have also chatted (to some extent) in German, Italian and Spanish. Ok, back to the review. 
Aside from the underlying sad theme (about death and losing a loved one) this was an exciting and well-written book. The story is based on a very interesting idea – a world where children’s pets go when they die. But that world is threatened by a very dangerous enemy and the main character Lin (or Lindelin) Rosenquist, who has been named for an old song, comes to the rescue. She belongs to a small group of children, who can travel to the animals’ world to save them from danger. In her struggle to save the animals and their world, she puts her old troll hunting talents from back on the farm, to good use.
In their new world, the animals grow to roughly human size and are able to speak like humans. It’s a fascinating, not to say irresistible idea. Imagine being able to see our beloved animals again some day, and to get to talk to them. Thinking about it almost makes me cry.
The book pretty much ends happily and that is, at least to me, very important, and perhaps also to the children the book is primarily written for. But I have to admit that I felt very sorry for one of the ‘enemies’ and I wish that he could have had a happier fate.
Besides, just a thought – this book seems to assume that only children love their pets and will miss them when they’re gone. Just for the record, there are grownups (in a manner of speaking – lol) who do too. Perhaps even more than many children. For the record.
