#Storm Publishing

[the-novel-approach-reviews]

Review: Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

Title: Death in the Spires Author: KJ Charles Publisher: Storm Publishing Length: 273 Pages Category: Historical Mystery Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Death in the Spires is a brilliant story of the illusory invincibility of dreams and the powerful provocation of betrayal. If you love moral gray areas, this story serves a delicious one. It ties things up with the happiest ending these…

[viscountessevie]

Roommates [ARC Review]

Release Date: 20th September 2023  Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ Spicy Level: 🌶️ My Review:

Roommates by Ola Tundan follows Ariella Mason and Caleb Black who go from being coworkers at their company, Ivory Bow to being roommates after Ariella leaves her seemingly perfect life. Ariella has followed the model minority’s life checklist: perfect job, house and soon to be spouse, Jasper. Until one day, she decides to leave it all behind. She turns up at Caleb’s apartment desperate for a place to crash and hide out from the aftermath. Caleb, an arrogant and notorious player has to make a choice of giving up his bachelor pad in exchange for an offer he can’t quite refuse from Ariella. 

I’ll be honest, I tried really hard to like this book because I was so excited to support a writer of colour writing a Black lead and who I thought would be an Indian hero. A note to the publisher and cover artist: The man on the cover is tan enough and has the signature 'Indian fuckboy' beard to be mistaken as a South Asian man.

I did also push myself to finish this book out of respect for the author and to give a thorough review. I will get to what could have been improved on and what didn’t quite connect with me later on. However, I want to focus on the positives first. 

I would like to commend Ola on writing her first full length novel! Not everyone can do that so that itself is a great feat. I think the writing was easy to read so readers can breeze through this book especially if they enjoy the themes, characters and tropes. I will always appreciate a writer of colour writing diverse characters and providing much needed representation in the modern romance genre. I also loved how she flipped the stereotypes of Black and white families! Ola showcased a loving, close knit and healthy Black family with Ariella’s while Caleb grew up in poverty and a broken home. It was a clever move that was also grounded in reality. 

As for why this book just did not hit for me: I had just finished rereading my favourite books with the roommate trope with a Black women as the lead and Indian hero (it took me nearly half the book to realise Caleb was not in fact an Indian man). I wanted to read something similar and thought this would be a comfort like the other two. However, I was faced with my two personal book icks: slow burns and love triangles. So unfortunately, this book had the odds stacked against it for me liking it. I will fully admit that my expectations for the book and the personal preferences of faster-paced books with the sole focus on the main romance tainted my reading experience. 

As for what could be improved upon: While I understand that Aari and Caleb are meant to be flawed characters, I didn’t find them likeable at all and couldn’t find it in myself to root for them. There seemed to be a disconnect between how they were described in the summary compared to their character introductions. Aari was far from perfect and Caleb felt like a teenage boy cosplaying as a womaniser. I think Ola could have spent time building up their positive traits and connect them to their ‘character templates’ before revealing them to be messy, real people. At times they also came across as whitewashed. [Though now I do know Caleb was always meant to be a white man] Ariella was very explicitly written to be a Black woman but her narrative voice came across as odd. As did her dialogue with her mother. Sometimes I had to reread their scenes together because it seemed like she was talking to a friend or sister. 

Plot wise even though it was a slow burn, the writing could have been tighter. Virtually nothing of consequence happens in the first half of the book and everything seemed to happen in the second half. The cliffhanger at the end didn’t quite feel like a cliffhanger to me. I think the structure of the novel could have been reworked to add another chapter or two to wrap up the book instead of a second full novel. It felt like a typical Act 3 climax that needed a longer ending. 

Lastly, I understand the statement Ola was trying to make with subverting the trope and giving us a few female perpetrators. That being said, it wasn’t executed well and fell flat for me. While women like them exist, it just felt like women were being unnecessarily villianised - especially since Ariella did not come across as likeable to me. 

All that said and done, I do think Ola has a lot of potential and can only go but up from here. I am really rooting for her and hope these comments aren’t taken too much to heart but help to build a better novel in the future. Despite my own hang ups on this book, I would still recommend this to those who enjoy a slow burn roommates book with deeply flawed characters, love triangles, close familial relationships and turning stereotypes on their head. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

[doodlesink]

Happy Thursday! The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander has Redwood Grove experiencing its first Mystery Fest as well as a murder.  Drop by to learn more about the first book in A Secret Bookcase Mysteries.  Happy Reading!

https://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-body-in-bookstore-by-ellie-alexander.html

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Murder Club by Sam Baron

FBI Agent Susan Parker #2

I tried book two of this series to see if perhaps the main character, Susan, was someone I could relate to better than I did in the first book – nope – not really. I read the first eight chapters, decided to dread the end, scratched my head, read a bit in the middle and decided that was it for me and opted not to read any more. I got a feel for Susan and don’t feel she is a person or character I want to spend more time with. The characters are all seem to be caricatures and/or stereotypes rather than developed interesting people that I might want to get to know better. I am sure that other readers will find Susan and the cases she investigates perfect for them, but she is a no-go for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review. (2-3 Stars)

BLURB

She walked through the cabin, across the gleaming hardwood floor, past the beautiful fireplace and luxury kitchen. The view overlooking the lake was breathtaking until she stepped outside and saw the lifeless body in the chair – a silk scarf wrapped tightly around his throat, his gray eyes wide open. FBI Agent Susan Parker’s fun afternoon go-karting with her daughter is interrupted when she’s called to the crime scene of a wealthy local man murdered in his home. As she delves into his life, she discovers the man belonged to an exclusive yet sinister Murder Club obsessed with the mysterious ‘Clothesline killer.’ The previous victims were all single mothers being investigated for suspected neglect who bore the same chilling hallmark – each was strangled in her bed at night by a masked figure. But the Murder Club aren’t the only ones who have been tracking his every move… A local pizza delivery girl has been closely following the cases and building her own investigative report. Though dismissed as isolated crimes before, Susan unravels a shocking trail of clues from the girl’s scrapbook that lead to the forgotten women and orphaned children left in the killer’s wake. Then another member of the club is found dead in his ranchhouse. Determined to silence those who get in his way, and with his sights now set on Susan, can she stop him before she and her family fall prey to this elusive killer? A gripping and heart-racing keep-you-up-all-night thriller that will have fans of Robert Dugoni, Gregg Olsen and Lisa Regan absolutely hooked. Can be read as a standalone.

[jenmedsbookreviews]

Jackdaw by Daniel Cole

Today I am delighted to share my thoughts on Jackdaw, the latest thriller from Daniel Cole. @DanielColeBooks @Stormbooks_co #books #bookblogger #bookreview #jackdaw

Today I am delighted to be sharing my thoughts on the brand new thriller from Daniel Cole, Jackdaw. I’ve loved the author’s earlier books so was really looking forward to seeing what dark deviousness he had in store for us this time. My thanks to publisher, Storm, for prividing the early copy via Netgalley. Here’s what it’s all about: Source: NetgalleyRelease Date: Continue reading Untitled

[idwsonicnews]

Updated: Sonic the Hedgehog #69 Preview

Script: Evan Stanley (@spiritsonic/@evanstanleyportfolio) Line Art: Min Ho Kim (@deegeemin) Colors: Reggie Graham (@ziggyfin) Color Assistance: Jonathan Dobbs & Rik Mack (@rikdraws) Letters: Shawn Lee Editors: David Mariotte (@davidmariottecomics) & Thea Cheuk Production Design: Johanna Nattalie

[tailschannel]

IDW unveils two new Sonic the Hedgehog one-shot issues, 900th Adventure and Endless Summer

Take a look at these new Sonic the Hedgehog one-shot issues from IDW Publishing, scheduled for a summer release.

900th Adventure

This issue, tentatively scheduled for 16 August, will feature various writers and illustrators as the blue blur goes on his "900th world-saving adventure!"

Sonic and his friends are playing a game of hot potato! Only the potato is the Warp Topaz and it could warp the whole world into oblivion. The gang is passing off the Warp Topaz in a relay race to get rid of it once and for all.

Cover A: Tracy Yardley

Cover B: Yuji Uekawa of SEGA Japan

Cover C: Evan Stanley

Cover D: Adam Bryce Thomas

Retailer incentive cover 1:10: Nathalie Fourdraine

Retailer incentive cover 1:25: Richard Elson

Retailer incentive cover 1:50: Jonathan Gray

Endless Summer

"Wave goodbye to the office and say hello to the beach," read the official solicitation. This issue is scheduled for a 30 August tentative release.

Sonic drags Jewel on a well-deserved beach day to spend time with her besties, Tangle and Whisper! But when they all settle in for some rest and relaxation…they realize the Babylon Rogues had the same idea… at the same beach. The only way to settle this is with a totally tubular beach showdown!

Writer: Gale Galligan

Illustrator: Tracy Yardley

Cover A: Tracy Yardley

Cover B: Jack Lawrence and Reggie Graham

Retailer incentive cover 1:10: Tracy Yardley (Monochrome "colouring book" variant of Cover A)

Retailer Incentive cover 1:25: Natalie Haines

[mathildejr]

going back to gouache after about 10 years of leaving it alone 👀 here's Mariam as a kid

[bigbigtruck]

Page 175 of SHOT AND CHASER is up!

Going back to one page a week for a while as I letter multiple books while handling both Patreon work and Kickstarter fulfillment by myself.

This is also a nice pause point between scenes if you've not yet read Shot & Chaser or have been waiting to binge it. As always, It would really mean a lot, if you enjoy S&C, if you'd recommend it to others.

[ranticore]

Hi has anyone ever told you Ice Storm Over Kosa has impeccable vibes and feels incredibly innovative and fresh!

In terms of the towns and communities, what types of infrastructure connects them? What kinds of technologies are common vs cutting edge in the setting’s different time periods?

hehe thank you.. i really like how the setting tag is just one of the character's names so it looks like you're saying He has impeccable vibes

<3

So there is a huge huge almost insurmountable limiting factor when it comes to the growth of towns and communities, which is that large aggregations of living creatures will attract the crawly beasts and they pollute the earth, make crops wither and die away, kill livestock, kill people, etc, and humans can't even touch them with protective gloves on since the crawlers' fluids eat through leather

humanity (and monsters) were forced to spread out over a larger surface area. villages and settlements are small and have to be actively defended almost nightly. there has been a slight stagnation of the march of progress, as just fighting off this threat takes up so much of everyone's resources, and forbids institutes of learning and the like from forming. so most of the technological advancements we see, they are in the field of long-range communication, weaponry (falconry too), and material technology that might repel crawling beasts

in prehistory, the land now called "the Ama plains" hosted a gigantic city with a hundred thousand people living in it, called Amphora. it was very advanced for its time period, with working plumbing, hot and cold water even, mass production of cloth and food, etc (not to mention the magic). Amphora no longer exists and most of its innovations were lost.

in the early time period after the arrival of the crawling beasts, humanity and monsterkind are scattered. the only established settlements are those guarded by wyrms, but it took many centuries to reach that point. human towns are ruled by small feudal lords who may form loose alliances with one another but typically rule their land as if it's a lone island in the middle of a vast sea. this is the time of Revelation's march. the most established settlement is the city of Onozar in the far west of Ama, which is ruled by a king who has a hold over many of the neighbouring towns and lords, by virtue of Onozar's size and relative safety. technology levels are low; no firearms, trebuchets and crossbows are cutting edge.

in the time of Twist and Flicker, there is an age of unprecedented cooperation with monsters (Revelation's march might have had something to do with this change). This means that towns and villages are now usually protected by something other than a wyrm - this ranges from willing cooperation to cruel self-styled 'monster tamers' who force monsters to do their bidding. This is the dawning age of harpy falconry as described in the lil story i wrote about Ice Storm of Kosa himself, though back then the old method was to make a contract with an adult harpy and cooperate that way. The infrastructure is still not very advanced; they're still struggling with plumbing and sewage systems, because crawlies come out of the ground and their poison can seep into aquifers. Anyway communication between towns is usually done by pigeon (or pigeon harpy). The ground is not a safe place to be, so houses are typically built on short stilts, or at the very least, residential rooms are upstairs. Water supply is often provided by elevated aqueducts; wells are a last resort, but often the only choice for impoverished villages. There is a culture of fear surrounding large gatherings and groups - sometimes it's unavoidable, and human/monster nature, but that anxiety is always there.

With this increased cooperation between humans and monsters, people are able to gather in larger groups. this enables more learning, more apprenticeships, more farmlands, and a more rapid development of technology. It also means a more centralised ruling system begins to form; it takes a lot of resources to supply a pack of wolfmen or a harpy flock to defend a town, so small towns must make petitions to their more prosperous neighbours, and this develops into a Government of the entire region. firearms develop in this time as a means to kill crawling beasts; they are not that successful, and it takes a while before people realise you can use firearms to kill other things, too.

A century later, developments are progressing well enough. Firearms are still rare but starting to spread. Harpy falconers have developed a new, effective technique for their art, it's called "kidnapping"; steal an egg, and raise the chick to imprint on its human parents. that way it won't want to leave. There is a sense of teetering on an edge; humanity leaning more into forcing monsters to help, instead of cooperating. But this is not the progression; the success of the Kosa flock helps convince many falconers that the kidnapping method isn't the best after all. technology is still uh bad, but this is an era where writing materials are finally becoming more mainstream, literacy rates are slowly rising. the printing press is the hot new thing. they have water towers now to provide the plumbing at a safe elevation. communication between villages is still very dove-based, since flight is the safest method of travel.

fire is the only thing that both kills and neutralises the poison of a crawling beast. by this time, progress has been made to develop "automatic fire machines". so all the R&D people put into guns in the real world was put into flamethrowers instead. it's easy enough to rig up a system that pumps out burning oil, but these devices are usually stationary, heavy, and fixed at the gates of the various more prosperous town walls.

[hewantshisbrideback]

The Parallels of Περσεφονη and Princess Arya Stark

You had best run back to your room, little sister. Septa Mordane will surely be lurking. You'll be sewing all through winter. When the spring thaw comes, they will find your body with a needle still locked tight between your frozen fingers. A Game of Thrones, Arya I

[sonicthehedeghog]

did you see it?

for more awesome cameos, read IDW Sonic the Hedgehog #73, out now!

[finalfrontierpublishing]

Remembrance by @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning

I finished binding Remembrance by @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning, which is the next part of The Desert Storm Epic. This is currently volume 2 of a projected 14/15 volumes!

some stats:

97,852 words || 384 pages

Title font: Ghaomiec

i'm still using the lovely @celestial-sphere-press' beautiful typesets. Sticking with the current theme, i decided to do Coruscant this time, with the Jedi Temple front and centre. Egged on by Des, this design is something like 10 times more complicated and took an entire hour to weed. The bookcloth is Colibri Copper, while endpapers are @renato-crepaldi, whose papers i love. I finished the bind with gold and brown silk endbands in 3 colours. Am likely to vary it up a little with the next volume with a different bookcloth colour, just for kicks.

Next up, I do have one more FFWAD bind to complete, and once i'm done with that, my physical stack of textblocks will have decreased to 4 (SUCCESS) and i can let myself print more things. Am working on my list of author copies as usual, slowly but surely.

i'm also waiting on legal paper (in the right grain this time) very excitedly, because i want to make more legal quarto books.

[lostximagination]

11/8/24

-

It was just a few scant months ago that Issac Riley and Anna Kahale met with a literal lightning strike. A lot happened very quickly, and the both of them are still adjusting to the changes in their lives.

Anna has to learn to control her newfound magic, and Issac has to deal with the drastic changes to his life from finding out he was the legendary magical figure known as the Master.

Kevin Anderson is still at large, leaving the both of them in grave danger, especially Issac, as he’s still recovering from his last encounter with the dangerous witch hunter.

This is made much worse as threats from the far past are returning, and quickly… And as the first Master in centuries, it’s on Issac to deal with them, and defeat the returning Darkness before it gets too strong. Can he handle the pressure, even with Anna’s help, or will he crack under the strain, and potentially doom the world with him?

-

First book's ebook is free until release day

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

Excellent ~ Couldn’t put it down!

What I Liked:

* The Seven Wonders as a college group that included two women and five men of various backgrounds ~ their lives were changed one night and ten years later might be set to rights…maybe

* The mystery of who killed Toby Feynsham, the impact of his death on the Seven Wonders, the secrets unearthed, and how it was eventually solved

* Jeremy “Jem” Kite: grammar school scholarship winner to Oxford, had a brilliant future until a murder destroyed his life, living a plodding existence until a catalyst turns him into an amateur sleuth ~ tenacious, brilliant, and wiser than he realizes

* Nicholas “Nicky” Rook: witty, intelligent, athletic, wicked with a sword, good friend, did well at Oxford and returned to teach there, deeper than he seems

* Aaron Oyede: physician, bright, black, from wealthy family, studied at Oxford, strong, had secrets, was in love with Ella

* Ella Feyhsham: Toby’s sister, brilliant, controlled by her family, was in love with Aaron,

* Hugo “Hugh” Morley-Adams: entitled, forceful, athletic fencer and runner, involved in politics, engaged to wealthy woman, secret keeper

* Toby Feynshaw: wealthy, in line for a title, string-puller, enjoyed being admired, bright and beautiful but his shine seemed to fade and then it was snuffed out

* Thinking about how secrets can destroy or save people and how secrets exposed can do the same…

* The ending and how it all came together

What I didn’t like: * Who and what I was meant not to like

* How cruel, self-absorbed, and selfish some of the characters were

* Not know what the future holds in store for the characters after that last page of the book

Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

BLURB

The newspapers called us the Seven Wonders. We were a group of friends, that’s all, and then Toby died. Was killed. Murdered. 1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, it destroyed his whole life. When an anonymous letter lands on his desk, accusing him of having killed Toby, Jem becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth. Jem begins to track down the people who were there the night Toby died – a close circle of friends once known as the ‘Seven Wonders’ for their charm and talent – only to find them as tormented and broken as himself. All of them knew and loved Toby at Oxford. Could one of them really be his killer? As Jem grows closer to uncovering what happened that night, his pursuer grows bolder, making increasingly terrifying attempts to silence him for good. Will exposing Toby's killer put to rest the shadows that have darkened Jem’s life for so long? Or will the gruesome truth only put him in more danger? Some secrets are better left buried… From the bestselling, acclaimed author of The Magpie Lord and The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen comes a chilling historical mystery with a sting in the tail. You won’t be able to put this gripping story down!

[wuxian-vs-wangji]

What do you think the next Mame show after BNW will be??

My bet is Love Director, because the book cover was sprinkled throughout Love Sea THOROUGHLY, and despite being part of the "Love" series of titles, to my knowledge it doesn't tie in to Love Sea. It's tied to Love Sky.

I don't know the plot of the book, but I think it would be before Love Sky? Not sure.

Update: @letmereadinpeace4 let me know it takes place AFTER Love Sky, so Pai and Sky could absolutely appear!

Of course, I always hope I'm wrong and Mame swings backwards in the timeline and goes with Love Sand. I'd ADORE a Love Sand show, it's my favorite novel of hers (so far).

There was also a show that was supposed to happen but was canceled or put on indefinite hold. They'd announced a cast. I think it would have come out after Wedding Plan. It's possible they return to do that one.