Secrets at
Midnight by Nalini Singh
This is a classic romance from the Psy/Changeling world
of Nalini Singh. Which has both good and bad points. On the good side we have a
lot of racial diversity, the fascinating world playing a backdrop, some pretty
awesome side characters and a romance that was generally very sweet
On the minus side, it was so classic that it was faintly
predictable. Bastien meets Kirby and ZOMG SHE SMELLS OF WIFEY! And lo, the
romance is now written in stone as soon as he human brain catches up with Bastien’s
relationship planning wereleopard nose. To be fair to the story, while Bastien
is very eager to be with Kirby (because of the WIFEY SMELL!) he is also very
careful not to pressure her – even refusing to have sex with her when she
instigates it because he recognises what vast changes have suddenly rocked her
life and he’s very conscious about not taking advantage of her. He is very
respectful of her agency and, if you must have the “I smell true love with this
complete stranger we are destined to be together” storyline then this is one of
the best you will read out there. I’m still not a fan, but this was one of the
best I’d read. Especially since, while Bastien had all the classic “MAH WIFEY!”
possessiveness, he also kept that to the internal monologue.
There’s also some clear story beyond the “I SMELL WIFEY
TWU LUB!” storyline with nice appearances from Bastien’s family and Kirby’s
past.
Magic Steals
by Ilona Andrews
It’s Jim and Dali’s story! For a long time fan of this
world, this is perfect and I couldn’t wait. But beyond my love of these two
characters, this story is awesome as well because of how Dali grows in it. Jim
has always been confident, powerful and a leader of his people; he’s the chief
enforcer and security head of the Pack, he’s the head of Clan Cat, made up of
some of the most dangerous and powerful and independent of the shapeshifters.
He has always, from the very beginning of the book, been an immense power and
worthy of respect. Dali, on the other hand, has always been plagued by
insecurities which is clear here – she considers herself scrawny, she has very
poor eyesight, she’s a vegetarian, she’s not dangerous and generally considers
herself inept – and has no idea why Jim wants to be with her. Her lack of
self-worth is painful to see
But through this book Dali really shows off her own
strength – and not through Jim holding her hand and convincing her she’s
special (though he is instrumental in pointing out that it doesn’t matter how
limited her vision or averse to blood she is, she’s still a massive White Tiger
and the biggest werecat in the city not to mention absolutely awe inspiring in
appearance), but through her going through her life as someone who defeats evil
magic in her Indonesian community. We see a side to her life we’ve never seen
before – which Jim has never seen before – in which she is casually competent
and incredibly, awesomely powerful – and Jim is willing to support her in that,
play second to her and let her guide the action because this is her territory and
her expertise. We get to see Dali in all her amazing glory and the immensely
powerful Jim continues to show his strength AND isn’t lessened by allowing Dali
to take point.
Throw in Dali being Indonesian, Jim being Black and a
whole lot of racially diverse side cast and this was awesome all through. There’s
also a wonderful sense of Indonesian culture – I can’t say I’m an expert but
there was some clear research involved from cuisine, to mythology. There’s also
some definite sharp commentary on the habit of fetishising Asian women. And
Dali’s family is hilarious.
Lucky Charms by
Lisa Shearin
I don’t know if it’s because I am not familiar with this
world – but this felt like a lot was packed into a small space. On the plus
side, that lot was wonderfully zany and excellent whacky fun and I’d definitely
want to pick up the whole series attached to it – but it definitely felt like a
small part of a whole rather than a story that could stand on its own. But,
then, since it left me wanting to find the rest of that whole, then I think
that’s a definite result.
The world is incredibly diverse with a lot of interesting
political machinations between the different mystical factions which just makes
me want to delve through it all. I also like the snarky mundanity brought in –
like the supernatural loving our world because of indoor plumbing. Makenna is
an interesting character – she has a useful ability without being superwoman,
she seems pretty alert and fun and capable and generally will be a decent
protagonist to follow around and definitely one I’d like to see more of – she also
has a sense of needing employment, but not seeming to be drowning in devotional
loyalty to an employer because of that – which will be interesting to see develop.
There is a budding romance but thankfully they resist the urge to pursue it.
Some of the humour about the male leprechauns shifting into female strippers to
humiliate male agents borders on the transphobic and homophobic, though
The Beast of
Blackmoor by Milla Vane
Why is this story even here? There’s a Grimdark High Fantasy story clinging to the end of an Urban Fantasy anthology? It feels so very out of place compared to the other three stories in the book
And why, when going for a Grimdark setting, do we really
need to have wall-to-wall rape? A tyrannical dictator enslaving his populace
who are starving because of demonic tainted water is already pretty grim, we
don’t need the man who was raped in the stocks and the hero who was gang raped
as a teenager and the king who wants to enslave him for more rape in the future
to extra grimmify everything. Nor do we really need all the angry sex between
Kavik and Mala, the woman he thinks is going to enslave him and return him to a
life of being raped. I equally dislike that Kavik and Mala saw each other and
it’s twu lub forever, each of them willing to sacrifice everything for the
other. Which sounds kind of romantic – until you remember that they’re both
heirs to separate thrones on which much of the hope of their people’s rest.
Once we move past the rape and the fastforward romance,
we actually have a great story and world here. The pantheon seems rich and
researched, the world is so well described you can almost see the landscape.
The politics has layers and has clearly been well put together and I’m sure all
of these lands have a lot of research in the author’s notes and head. The action
scenes are gloriously written and I can see the chainmail and the flying blood.
The story has all the epic fantasy elements and if I were ever to get back into
high fantasy I would have considered this author and this series because it
ticks a lot of boxes – but not the pointless grimdark rape or the falling in
love while still reeking of the entrails of the monsters they just slew.
It’s an anthology with a lot more ups than down, a lot of
excellent stories, some brilliant characters and, in at least 2 of the stories,
some good racial diversity and development. The first two stories are the
strongest but all of them have strong elements in their favour.
