L.E. DeLano's Blog

My letter “T” pick for the A To Z Challenge was TRIAL OF THE SUN KING by Nisha J. Tuli. This is a romantasy where The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. Our female lead, Lor, is plucked out of a horrific prison life to compete in the Sun King Trials because . . . reasons. She’s told they just always randomly pick one human contestant from the prison in the neighboring Aurora kingdom to compete against nine other Fae females for the honor of becoming the bonded mate of Atlas, the Sun King. It’s clear from the beginning that Atlas had an ulterior motive for choosing Lor in particular, and it’s also revealed along the way that Lor is a very special prisoner, as evidenced when the Aurora king goes berserk upon finding out she’s gone and sends his son Nadir to find her.

The story is told in alternating perspectives from both Lor and Nadir, and I have to admit it irritated me that Lor’s chapters were written in first person, and Nadir’s were always written in third person. Pick one style and stick with it, please. Lor is kept in luxury as she’s romanced and bedazzled by Atlas, who occasionally lets his veneer slip, giving her a few moments of unease. Nadir’s chapters paint a picture of his own cruel father the Aurora King, but also provide a few choice comments that paint Atlas as being far from the dream guy he appears to be.

Lor acquits herself well in the trials despite their severity and her human shortcomings. I won’t give away the ending, but when she finally meets Nadir there’s a pull between them that shocks them both. The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but luckily the series is complete so I can move on to book two – and I thoroughly plan to do so. This was a very good (if sometimes predictable) book and I look forward to more in this series. Four stars.

My letter “S” pick for the A To Z Challenge was SPARE by Prince Harry.

I’d just completed a full binge watch of “The Crown” on Netflix right before I started this book, so I had a good foundation of royal family dysfunction, rigid adherence to tradition and protocol, and the inherent blindness to privilege that make up the house of Windsor. All of these come into play in sculpting Prince Harry’s life and this memoir.

In a an unabashed, relatively humble, and frequently diplomatic recount, Harry goes in-depth about his unresolved grief for his mother, his often distant and strained relationship with his father and brother, and his pure, seething hatred of the press and paparazzi (with good reason). Above all, the book discusses his love for his wife Meghan and their children. His relief at having mostly left the royal life and all its restrictions is evident, as is his disappointment in his family for their negligence in standing up for his wife and their marriage.

I found Harry’s descriptions of his time in the Afghan war to be particularly interesting, and his frank discussion of his own mental health issues made me admire him all the more. This book introduced me to the Harry everyone should know. My only complaint is that the chapters were often very short (some are only a page). The book reads more like stream-of-consciousness than a cohesive memoir. This was a great read and I highly recommend it. Four and a half stars.

My letter “R” pick for the A to Z Reading Challenge was RHAPSODIC by Laura Thalassa. This is book one of The Bargainer series, a four book set – and I am so freaking happy to say it’s complete because I. Love. It. So. Hard.

Calle is a human with the supernatural powers of a siren, living in a modern-day earth where supernaturals are a normal thing. We begin the story with fifteen year-old Callie standing over the body of her abusive stepfather. She has just accidentally killed him defending herself and in a moment of sheer panic, she digs through her stepfather’s stuff and locates the calling card for the Bargainer, a rockstar warrior Fae hottie named Desmond who has the ominous reputation of being able to solve anything for you—for a price. He takes in the situation, then balks and refuses, saying he doesn’t make deals with minors. Callie begs him and (reading her motive for the murder correctly) he finally relents. Since she’s now all alone in the world (mom is dead and she doesn’t know who her real father is), he packs her up to a magical boarding school on a full scholarship and makes the whole sordid murder go away. A year later, a painfully lonely and ostracized Callie calls him again. This time for her bargain, she only asks that he hang out with her for a little while.

A little while becomes nearly two years, and they become closer, first as friends, then falling for each other hard. Eventually, Callie voices her love, and Des instantly disappears, abandoning her for seven years. This is where our story starts, and Callie is now a PI with her best friend, a talented witch. She never quite got over Des and when he suddenly reappears and sweeps her off to his faerie kingdom, she gets pulled into a search for a faerie criminal with ominous powers who, for some reason, has drawn a target on her. The story is told in alternating present-day and flashback chapters, and I fell in love with Des along with her in every one. The mystery villain is compelling, and the stakes are sky-high. The author’s world-building is stunning, Callie is smart, but flawed, and Des is a snarky, arrogant sex god who deserves every bit of his self-confidence. I am already happily devouring the sequels and will be reading more of this author after that. Five steamy stars.

My letter “Q” pick for the A to Z Reading Challenge was QUICKSILVER by Callie Hart. This book is a romantasy and getting loads of media hype. The premise is interesting: Saeris Fane is a human girl with the power to find and manipulate quicksilver, a magical metal that is incredibly rare and makes phenomenal magical swords, even when infused at the smallest amounts. Unfortunately, most who encounter a larger amount of the substance (which can also make portals into other realms) go mad from the exposure if they don’t possess a relic infused with the substance.

Enter our typical broody Fae warrior love interest, The Kingfisher. Saeris travels through the quicksilver with him to his Fae kingdom and becomes embroiled in a war that’s been raging (and manipulated behind the scenes) for decades. I can’t give too many spoilers here, but add in Fae who want her dead, rulers who have their own agendas in this war, faerie vampires, and some meddling gods, and you have book one of a solid series. That being said, there was a ton of exposition dump in large chunks, characters who suddenly say “Surprise, I’m magical!” out of nowhere, and some bendy-fuzzy magical laws. I found myself slogging through or shaking my head at a few parts. All in all, still a good book and I’ll probably stay with the series. Four Stars.

My letter “P” pick for the A to Z Reading Challenge was PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir—best known for THE MARTIAN. I see now that PROJECT HAIL MARY is releasing as a movie, and I cannot wait to see it. Just like THE MARTIAN, this is a story of a man unexpectedly in a battle for survival—but in this case, not for himself but for the entire planet. Ryland Grace is aboard the Hail Mary, a spaceship sent to another star system that may have the key to saving Earth’s sun, currently under attack by a space parasite known as astrophage that is draining the star of its energy.

This space parasite absorbs and emits large amounts of energy itself and scientists have found a way to harness that and create an interstellar engine capable of transporting three scientists on a suicide mission in order to find an answer for the astrophage problem. Grace, a middle-school science teacher and genius level scientist (who dropped out of grad school when his groundbreaking paper on molecular biology was critically panned) is drafted into the program. He finds himself unexpectedly alone when he wakes as the only mission survivor at his destination – a star that is impervious to astrophage located twelve light years from earth. That doesn’t last for long, however, when he is hailed by an alien spacecraft.

The lone alien survivor on his crew, a rock-like creature with multiple arms who speaks in musical notes, is able to communicate enough to establish that he and Grace are on the same mission. Astrophage is killing his planet’s sun, as well. Grace names him Rocky, writes up a computer program that translates words to music and vice versa, and they become a team. Rocky turns out to be a brilliant engineer and each race has made marvelous scientific advances that the other can take advantage of. Along with his incredible skills, Rocky offers much more, becoming a true friend to Grace. I won’t give away the challenges they face or the killer plot reveal but I will say it’s a thrill a minute, smart as hell, and I love both of these characters SO much. The ending is perfect, and I hope the movie keeps it. Five glowing stars on this outstanding read.

My letter “O” pick for the A to Z Reading Challenge was Hemingway’s THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA.

I always try to include a classic or two on this list, and despite being an iconic piece of literary fiction, I’ve never read this one. It’s not a terribly long book, but there is not one sentence wasted. Hemingway infuses his prose and descriptions with such a sense of atmosphere that you are immediately immersed in this world, in this struggle, in this quest to catch that one big, elusive fish that will keep us fed for a month and buy us the other things we so desperately need. As it moves to become an obsession once we find the fish we are as driven as the old man in this quest, and just as invested in the outcome. This story stays with you, painting a universal struggle of man against the elements, against socio-economic challenges, and against the creeping of old age as it depletes and diminishes you. In short, it’s a masterpiece (and a masterclass, if you’re a writer). This was an easy five stars.

My letter “P” pick for the A to Z reading challenge was THE NEVER LIST, a romantasy by Jade Presley. Let me start this review by stating that this book is straight up ladyporn. It’s a “why choose” story (formerly known as a reverse harem) about a girl named Rylee Gray who lives in a land protected by four sleeping goddesses. These goddesses married four men (the kings) and granted them immortality. They each bore a son (the princes – aka “Lords of Chaos”), then set powerful wards to protect the land, sending the goddesses into hibernation.

The kings are an elitist group who set up a class system that oppresses many, but especially any of those who bear a small amount of god-magic in their blood (the demi). These were confined to a horrible ash-covered wasteland to toil away in the gemstone mines that keep the kings wealthy. Over time, most demi have died out, but the few who remain end up getting put on “The Never List,” a list of undesirables and government-branded “criminals” who get sent on dangerous missions to a threatening enemy country. So far, this country is unable to attack due to the protective wards, but the wards are weakening.

Rylee lives in the Ashlands, and is a demi – as is her older sister, who went missing a year ago. In an effort to find any information on her, Rylee gets her hands on a forged invitation to “The Choosing,” a yearly ceremony in which the four princes choose a prospective mate, who, according to the doctrine of the goddesses will anchor them and enable them to access their full powers and then take the throne. Rylee only planned on sneaking into the royal library, but surprise, surprise, she is chosen by the most dangerous of the brothers who was going on a gut feeling about her. This is problematic, as she needs to lie about her birthplace and magical demi powers. From there, she enjoys (!) time with each brother in turn, meeting their people, and living in their cities. Along the way, there’s a ton of steamy scenes (individually and en masse), attacks by a rebel faction, devious acts by the kings, and a final challenge with dire consequences. All in all it’s a wild ride in just about every way you can think of and ends on a huge cliffhanger. I’m giving 4 1/2 stars because she spent a lot of time building a relationship with prince #1, then the other three are kind of rushed through so when they all fall for her (and she for them) it seems abrupt for all but one. Other than that, I am eagerly awaiting book two.

My letter “M” pick for the A to Z Book Challenge was MEDIEVAL MYTHS & MYSTERIES by Dorsey Miller. I fully admit that this was not my original pick for the letter M, but I “read” most of my books on Audible and my original pick, MURDER OUTSIDE THE BACK DOOR by John Tomassi was unfortunately read by an AI voice. I tried, guys, I really did, but it just wasn’t great and really left the story feeling flat. I gave up less than half an hour into it and picked another M title.

Dorsey Armstrong is an American Arthurian scholar who is a Professor of English and Medieval Literature at Purdue University and MEDIEVAL MYTHS & MYSTERIES is part of the “Great Courses” selection on Audible. This is actually a series of lectures condensed into a book and I enjoyed every single bit of it.

Not only does Professor Armstrong dispel a whole lot of inaccurate information about medieval times, she addresses some of the era’s biggest stories like King Arthur, the knights Templar and the Holy Grail, Robin Hood, the black death, etc. and even delves a bit into fanciful creatures like unicorns.

I learned something new in all these lectures, delivered in a charming and often comedic manner by Professor Armstrong (who narrates). I especially enjoyed her dissection of the King Arthur legend – and it was amazing to learn that while a good amount of Arthurian legend is pure myth, it was likely rooted in fact, and the “real” Arthur was not a king but a leader – and a damn amazing one, whose legacy can be traced through the evolution of Britain during a very tumultuous time.

I’m going with four and a half stars on this one and I’ve already queued up more of Dorsey Armstrong’s lectures – Audible has a lot of them. I recommend you do the same, if you have the app.

My letter “L” pick for the A To Z reading challenge was LOVE, MOM by Iliana Zander. This psychological thriller pulled me in and I devoured it in one sitting.

Mackenzie Casper has a famous mother, a best-selling author whose dark, twisted thrillers have a dedicated worldwide fanbase. When her mother dies in an accident, fans across the world are left grieving, and the investigators are asking: Was that really an accident? To make matters worse, a deranged fan is sending Mackenzie letters that include pages of her mother’s diary – pages that carry a lot of secrets that change her perception of her mother drastically.

This book was slow to get rolling – literally dragging to about the halfway point and then blammo! It was a thrilling rollercoaster of events, plot twists, and reveals. I couldn’t put it down. I’m giving this one four stars just for the pacing, but the book is worth the wait to the end.

My letter “K” pick for the A To Z Challenge was KINGSLAND by Dwayne Alexander Smith. This story is set in an alt-historyish dystopian future where the United States funds a Black reparations country – an island off the coast of Georgia named Kingsland – a place purported to be an idyllic paradise. Only it’s not so much with lingering racial tensions and constant police-state surveillance that can’t seem to catch a serial killer on the loose.

Enter detective Jamison Wright, a former FBI profiler who soon learns all is not as it seems in Kingsland. I can’t tell you much more without spoilers, but overall this was a strong story with gripping plot twists and plenty of escalating action – though at times it’s a bit formulaic The real selling point here is the all-star cast (this is an Audible Original). Winston Duke just knocks it out of the park along with the supporting cast and the top-notch production values fully immerse you in the story. Overall a good read that fell just short of a great read. Three and a half stars.