Review: The Clockwork Dynasty – Daniel H. Wilson

2018:1
3 of 5 stars
Published 2017

“Avtomats” are a race of clockwork beings. They have “lived” side by side with humans for millenia but they are warring with each other and their numbers are dwindling. The Avtomats can be very sophisticated, with technology that gives them the appearance of breathing, even crying in order that they fit in.

In the Russian court of 1725, two “avtomats”, a male and female, were restored and became favourites of the Tsar but when the Tsar died, they had to flee St. Petersburg. They declined to seek out more of their kind, and we then follow them through the next 250 years, having to live in secret,  avoiding some of their kind that would destroy them.  Ultimately, they get pulled into a war within their race of beings.

In present day, June, an anthropology student who specializes in antique mechanical antiquities, finds an antique robotic female doll. She extracts an artifact from the heart area and manages to restart the robot. She herself has an old artifact that her grandfather gave her. He came into possession of it during a WWII battle where he encountered what he believed to be a robotic soldier. Her artifact,  which is the “soul” of the avtomat, turns out to be something that’s wanted by a lot of people. Or Avtomats as it turns out. She is rescued by one of them and begins a journey that will take her around the world and land her in danger.

I found this new world and the avtomats in it fascinating. While sometimes inconsistencies niggled and confused me (how can a robot smell if it can’t breathe? how could it know what is a good smell or a bad one? It seemed like these beings shouldn’t have emotions and yet they do at times. ) overall the detail and the adventure was pretty good.

Another inconsistency was that it seemed to be implied that the avtomats could be found among modern day society, there were even “safe” places where they could go for repairs yet at the end, we are told there are only dozens of them left in the whole world after killing each other off to gain their “anima”, which is that artifact in their “heart” that provides them with their power source and “soul”.  There were some plot points that weren’t explained or that were inconsistent but  I did enjoy the story, alternating in current day and through Peter and Elena’s timeline.  I do think Peter and Elena were far more interesting as characters than June, who was the catalyst for the storyline but didn’t have much character development at all.

The book had it’s strong points and overall, a good read.

Review: The Brands Who Came for Christmas – Maggie Shayne

2017: 97
3.5 of 5 stars
Published in 2000

I picked up a few free or cheap Kindle books as part of the Goodreads CanadianContent group challenge to read holiday themed books in December. This edition also has another book included. I haven’t decided if I’ll read that one or not.

This book is a light, frothy, typical romance novel. Man and woman meet, connect, then something happens and they are apart but they have a reunion and a happy ever after. Cliche plots, predictable endings, quirky and strong women characters, rich handsome men and beautiful women. This isn’t to say it’s a bad thing, but it does what it says on the tin. You know what you’re getting and you know how it will end.

Maya Brand is the oldest of five sisters raised by a single mother whose husband turned out to be someone else’s as well as hers. The family has to endure the bigamy scandal which, in this day and age, hugely annoyed me. It was hardly their fault, was it? Neither family knew the father had two families on the go. But Maya was the one that cared what other people thought and tried to be the perfect daughter, upstanding citizen, church goer, striving to be accepted. It’s an uphill battle when your family owns and runs the local saloon, one sister out in California modelling lingerie (!), another the bouncer at the bar and the rest helping their mother run it. Again, why it matters, I have no idea and the conservative mindset of the town nearly put me off altogether.

It was a dark and rainy night. Into the bar walks a scruffy looking cowboy who happens to be the third richest man in America (really?????) who doesn’t necessarily want to follow the route his family has laid out for him. (politics). He would like to meet a woman someday who wants him for himself, not for the power and money he could bring so when he and Maya meet and connect, he doesn’t use his real name. You can see where this is going, right? Circumstances being what they are, he ends up leaving town unexpectedly and she ends up pregnant. *SCANDAL*  Remember, now, she doesn’t know his real name but he’s the third richest man in America and is potentially headed into politics but she obviously doesn’t read the newspaper or see the news on television. He gets caught up in family matters and doesn’t get in touch with her again until his identity gets splashed all over the newspapers 8 and a half months later and someone anonymously gives him the heads up about his pregnant one night stand.

Things progress, there are hopes and doubts, shadows from the past, and a big, howling blizzard on Christmas Eve.

It’s very soapy. It’s predictable. It’s an easy read. It’s not badly written though it was a bit grating that most of the characters are “perfect”, strong, supportive, talented, protective, wise, grumpy. Grinch like hearts turn three sizes bigger. A life is saved, a family is reunited. And they all lived happily ever after.

 

 

Review: Gods of Howl Mountain – Taylor Brown

2017:96
4.5 of 5 stars
Published in 2018

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

We are in the mountains of North Carolina in the 1950s, just after the Korean war. Rory has come home from the war and is working for a family that controls the local booze industry, bootleggers. He lives with his grandmother who has a lot of secrets. His Gran’s also a local healer, some say a witch. Rory falls for a woman who’s associated with a local spiritual church and his grandmother disapproves. This may or may not be related to a secret she’s keeping about Rory’s mother who has been in an asylum for years. That isn’t really the gist of the plot, though, That’s concerned with the life of a bootlegger who happens to be a disabled war veteran. He’s learned to live by the seat of his pants and he doesn’t back down. Ever. We know more about his life as well, through Granny’s POV, a woman who fiercely loves and defends her own.

I really enjoyed the book. The writing is fantastic, with the characters each having their own distinctive voice. I really became absorbed into the story every time I picked it up. My only niggle would be a bit too much detailed description at times but that’s probably only because I was impatient to get back to the story.

Review: Miss Kane’s Christmas – Caroline Mickelson

2017:95
3.5 of 5 stars
Published 2012

This novella is a light and cheerful story that could easily be a Hallmark Christmas special. Ben lost his wife to cancer some years ago, though she was about to leave him anyway. He’s been bringing up his two children with the help of his sister ever since and refuses to celebrate the Christmas season. Santa has decided this must change, for the children’s sake as well as Ben’s. Santa sends his daughter Carol to rectify the situation. Carol is a bright young woman full of the spirit of the season and faces her challenge full on. I’m not sure Ben really knew what hit him! Of course, Ben is handsome and Carol is beautiful and it’s not really any surprise how it’s going to end up. Quick and easy to read, not too sugary, perfect for the novella format.