Lore Olympus

  Title: Lore Olympus

Author: Rachel Smythe

Paperback (Hardcover also available)

Pages: 384

Publisher: Random House Worlds

ISBN: 9780593356074

Release Date: 11-02-21

Book Details: This book measures 7x9 and is a bit on the heavy side. Most of the time I read this with the book in my lap. I wasn’t able to find an eBook version of this, but if there is one, please let me know.

Where To Find It: Looks like just about everywhere. I got my copy from Hamilton.

Time that the story takes place? Current day, they have cellphones and stuff.

POV? Third person.

What caught your eye? Right off the bat was the cover, I saw it on Pinterest a while back and was just struck by it. Seeing it in real life did not disappoint. And also, this is a Hades and Persephone tale—with all the other gods and goddess thrown in, of course I was going to buy it. Mythology is right up there with Vampires for me. 

Did you enjoy it? I really did.

Was it predictable? Not one bit. I was in for the ride and loved every minute.

Was it sexy? Tame? That’s kind of hard to say. It wasn’t a case of, “Oh my stars! That’s too sexy!! I’m blinded by the sexy!” There are sensual bits in this, romantic moments, sweet moments. Certainly not tame, but there was nothing that I would be ashamed of if I was reading this out in public.

Did you find it funny? Entertaining? Funny, cute, adorable, and 100% entertaining.

Would you read it again? You betcha.

Is this part of a series? It is. 

Now obviously I’m late to the party here, those that are familiar with Webtoons, have known about this amazing series for a bit now. It’s impossible to keep up with every wonderful piece of literature out there, thus my review and discovery of this is coming a bit late in the game.

The very first thing I want to tell you, if you’re not already aware, this is a graphic novel—as in comic book or Manga—so if you were looking for something with more words than pictures . . . this one might not be for you.

The story is simple, more or less, this is Hades and Persephone meeting. Just the time and place and circumstances have changed. If you enjoyed Touch of Malice, you will almost certainly enjoy this. In fact, I hate to say this, I actually preferred this version. Also, if you’ve read both, you will certainly see some similarities. 

The art is what really sets this version apart from everything else. It’s just beautiful. Rachel Smythe has done an amazing job of using color to convey the emotional state of the characters and the simple yet complicated way of showing the character’s facial expressions—I truly cannot describe what this is, but it works. Persephone is pink while Hades is a cool blue, in fact every major player gets their own color theme, and the compositions are always lovely.

Let me say again: THE ART IS AMAZING!

The dialogue is quirky, snappy, fast, and edgy at times. I just really love that this is an updated story of the gods. If the gods moved among us, this would certainly be them.

I also want to convey, that this isn’t just a Hades and Persephone story, there are also glimpses of Eros and Psyche—which OMG I can’t wait to see the next volumes, does she do more of those two as well?! Just from where I’m sitting with my one volume, this is leaning towards the Hades and Persephone storyline.

There is a content warning at the beginning of the book and while I certainly appreciated it, I’m not entirely sure it was needed, I was expecting something much worse than what was presented . . . but again, there are others that want to be aware of particular content and I’m all for it. A bit of a heads up of what to expect is always nice. I’m staring at a book right now that I really wish there would have had a bright red warning before I’d cracked that sucker open . . . 

Honey Blood

 Title: Honey Blood

Author: Miko Mitsuki

Paperback (also available in eBook format.)

Pages: 192

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC

ISBN: 9781421573373

Release Date: 10-07-14

Book Details: This is a Manga that reads from Right to Left. There are instructions on how to read it at the back of the book. 

Where To Find It: I got my copy at Barnes and Noble.

Time that the story takes place? Current day, at least for 2014

POV? Third person with moments of First person. Can Manga be third person?

What caught your eye? Originally the title and then the description. I mean, duh, Vampires!

Did you enjoy it? I did.

Was it predictable? Yeah, kind of.

Was it sexy? Tame? Well, it wasn’t tame, but it wasn’t entirely sexy. I only say that because at several times in the story we’re skirting the edges of appropriately sexy and inappropriately sexy. The suggested reading age is 13-17 years, honestly, I think 13 might be a touch too young, 15 would be more doable. And I do mean we are really skirting that fine line on particular themes.

Did you find it funny? Entertaining? Certain frames of the Manga are drawn in a very cute and adorable manner that adds to the levity of the moment. I was pretty entertained for the whole book.

Would you read it again? Absolutely.

Is this part of a series? Of course it is! And I only bought Volume One! There are three books in total, so you won’t be strung out for years wondering what happens.

Manga is such an interesting art form. You have the benefit of dialogue and pictures, which is really unfair to say as Manga reads almost like frames of a film. You have shading, artistic lighting, particular characters to show the emotional state of a character. There’s a very good reason why a great many Mangas are turned into Animes, the medium lends itself to the adaptation. 

There’s also something odd about many of the storylines in Manga. A great many things that wouldn’t be socially (legally) acceptable in American culture are commonplace in another. I’m not excusing it or saying I approve of it; I just have to accept that these are the parameters of the story and just live with it.

Which is what I had do with Honey Blood.

Our lead characters are Hinata, a high school student, and Junya, a very popular novelist. Hinata’s mother suggests that her daughter take Junya around town and show him around. After all, he’d enjoy it more with a pretty young girl than an older woman—no joke, that’s what was said, by the mother. H is initially not impressed; she had no interest in hanging out with some “old” man.

Junya is the creator of a popular Vampire novel that has also been turned into a hit television show. Everybody in the world—save for Hinata—is obsessed with this book.

The other element of this story are strange attacks that are happening in the city and the newspapers are actually reporting on “Possible Vampire Attacks!?”

Now I won’t go into every little detail of the story, because again, this is only Volume One, who knows how this will turn out—however, the story, for what it is, is interesting. The concept of Vampires in this world are very interesting. They aren’t the sexy seducing every pretty young thing they come across. In fact, Vampires don’t kiss their “donors” as that would enter both Vampire and Human into a contract. Once a Vampire kisses a Human, they are bound together until the Human dies. The Vampire can only drink from that Human, and when the Human dies, so does the Vampire. I mean, that’s a new for me. So, I’ll give it points for new and interesting.

The predictability of the story comes in the form of we know how this is going to turn out. You know by the time you get to that last frame what’s going to happen, but even then, I was still kind of going, “Wow, okay . . . we’re doing this.” Seeing this is only three volumes, I don’t think it’s going to drag on with pointless plot lines and characters. Even still, I must admit, gentle reader, I’m on the fence about getting the remaining two volumes. Thoughts? Should I go ahead and get them and see how this ends? Has anyone read this series? Is it worth it? No spoilers though!

As far as the art goes, it is truly lovely and stunning. Even my husband commented on it when he flipped through it earlier today. I’m just shocked that there isn’t more available from this creator—don’t get me wrong, there is a lot more by this creator, just not available to English speakers. * But I am curious, is anyone else familiar with this author? Love their work? Please let me know, I’m a sucker for reader recommendations.

*In trying to find other books by Miko Mitsuki, I saw one title called Virgin Blood and I made the mistake of just typing in that title into the Barnes and Noble search bar and WOW! When will I learn to not do that

Something Old

 Title: Something Old

Author: Toni Collins

Paperback 

Pages: 186

Publisher: Silhouette (Now Harlequin)

ISBN: 9780373089413

Release Date: June 1993

Book Details: Standard paperback dimensions.

Where To Find It: Well here’s the thing, friends, it looks like second hand may be your only option. I’ve checked Harlequin for eBook format, Barnes and Noble, and there’s just nothing. Thrift Books is the only place I’m finding it right now.

Time that the story takes place? Current day of 1993

POV? Third Person

What caught your eye? Vampires baby! It was just such a shock to find that Silhouette was publishing a Vampire novel in their normal monthly offerings. 

Did you enjoy it? I did. Of course I did, Vampires are involved.

Was it predictable? It is.

Was it sexy? Tame? Very tame. 

Did you find it funny? Entertaining? I wouldn’t say laugh out loud funny, I certainly smiled at particular scenes. Very entertaining.

Would you read it again? I would actually. I mean, I did for this review.

Is this part of a series? Yes and no. This isn’t part of a series by the author, but of Silhouette that month, You’re Invited Series. There were five books: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Lucky Penny. And perhaps I’m misremembering, but I truly don’t recall Silhouette doing a theme month like this. All the books were released in June (clearly a thing about June Weddings), they weren’t interconnected in anyway, save for the titles. Does anyone else remember Silhouette doing this for other months? Let me know if you do remember.

Let me start out this review with an apology, this book is just nowhere, as stated above, it looks like second hand is going to be your best bet. But I am shocked and stunned that it isn’t at least available as an eBook, which is a shame as this is a sweet book. Also, I truly couldn’t find anything about the author. There were several authors that popped up with that name, yet not one of them claimed to be a writer of romantic fiction.

Okay, moving on!

Gabriella “Gabby” Thorne is our adorable leading lady. She works for the International Intruder which is a tabloid magazine similar to Weekly World News. Elvis is alive and well and communicating with aliens and making werewolf babies and all that jazz, you get the point, and our Gabby is one of the reporters there.

We have to talk about Gabby for a minute. I wasn’t being condescending when I said she was adorable, because she is, she really and truly is. She dresses in overtly bright colors, royal blue sweaters with neon green leggings and hot pink ballet flats, which all go fantastic with her copper hair. The thing that I really appreciated in the writing of Gabby is that as the character is reflecting on being in love—which she has never been—and recounting her crushes and interests, she includes the crushes she’s had on actors and rock stars. Which is something that I’ve never seen acknowledged before in a book. I love that the author recognizes how important those fleeting crushes (for some of us, obsession, might be a better word) on celebrities are. Unrealistic? Sure. Valid? Hell, yes.

Thank you Toni Collins for giving us fangirls that one.

The book starts off with a group of women around the water cooler commenting on the fact that they haven’t gotten a glimpse of their new owner and our hero, Adrian Lacross, an 900 year old vampire who was, and I guess still is, a 12th century prince.

And this is where we come to my first off the record rant: Why isn’t this book longer, bigger, turned into a weekly television show that gets four movie sequels, rebooted for the modern age, all the books are re-released with new covers and we can all sit around and complain how the “original” was way better than this crap they’re trying to peddle now? 

This book is jam packed with stuff that deserved more than 186 pages. I haven’t even gotten to the part where Gabby’s grandfather, Otto—who has raised her and her brothers since the death of her parents—has raised the children on stories of the great Van Dammes, Vampire hunters in the old country. 

And . . . Adrian’s arch enemies!

Otto knows Adrian, he’s known Adrian since he was eight years old. And now his granddaughter has got the feels for him.

Seriously, why the hell wasn’t this book longer? It’s all gold, pure double dipped gold. I could go on and on about the little bits of awesome in this book, which I don’t think I’ve stated clearly enough is only 186 page long. There’s seriously too much awesome to go into, but we’re here for the romance.

Sure the romance aspect of this story is predictable, as it should be when you read something from Silhouette Romance, the leads are going to get together. It’s just a matter of how to make it all work out in the end. 

As is classic with most Vampire romances, the undead hero longs to be mortal again, to live the mundane life of going for walks in the sun, going out during the day, getting married and having kids. Did I mention that Adrian has hired a company to develop this super duper extra special sunblock that would allow him to go out in the sun? I’ve read a few piles of Vampire novels in my time, romantic and just regular fiction, and never has a Vampire thought to make a freaking sunblock that would allow him to stroll about in the sunlight. Come on, that one’s awesome.

The conflict of the romance is the history of the Van Dammes and Adrian Lacross, the romantic aspect of this story is gentle and pleasant. Gabby and Adrian get along well enough for them to become smitten kittens. There’s no sex in this book, mostly heated flirtations and kissing. Adrian is rather old fashioned in his courtship ways and Gabby isn’t one to just go for it, she’s waiting for love. It’s really the other parts of the story, I don’t think I mentioned nearly enough, is only 186 pages long, that round out the story with more than sufficient conflict for the characters to overcome.

If you are lucky enough to find this book, grab it. Yes, it’s tame, but damn what a story. And I really meant it, I wish this were longer than 186 pages.

As Twilight Falls

 Title: As Twilight Falls

Author: Amanda Ashley

Paperback (eBook is also available)

Pages: 360

Publisher: Zebra Books 

ISBN: 9781420130393

Release Date: 2013

Book Details: Standard paperback dimensions.

Where To Find It: I bought my copy years ago from Target. However, as I was doing research for this title, I see that there’s been a new release of this book. New ISBN, new cover (and sorry, not a great cover), and new higher price. I’ve only been able to find it on B&N, but I imagine that other booksellers would be able to get this for you.

Time that the story takes place? Current day

POV? Third person

What caught your eye? First thing: Amanda Ashley, the woman can write Vampires like no one else can. I have double copies of a few of her books, I love them so much.

Did you enjoy it? I really did.

Was it predictable? Yes and no. Not in a bad way, just in a “I’ve read this author enough I know what to expect,” way.

Was it sexy? Tame? Tame at first, then pretty sexy. 

Did you find it funny? Entertaining? Not funny. As far as being entertaining, just the premise of the story was enough to keep me turning the pages.

Would you read it again? I would.

Is this part of a series? The Morgan Creek series.

This is going to be one of those times that I don’t do the deepest of dives into a book, only because I don’t want to spoil it for you. What I will say, out of all the Amanda Ashley books I’ve read in my life—which believe it or not, isn’t all of them, yet—this was the scariest one. 

I honestly feel like Amanda Ashley and Stephen King had lunch together one day and this plot was hatched.

Kadie Andrews, a photographer, is in desperate need of gas. Seeing a gas station on the other side of a bridge that looks barely able to sustain the weight of a car, and with storm clouds threatening rain any moment, Kadie decides to go for it and races across the bridge.

The gas station is out of business. 

She tries to call the auto club, no cellphone service.

This is when Kadie meets a nice English gent who informs her she’s going to freeze in her car and suggests she come with him to the tavern. He assures her she’ll be safe with him and takes her to the tavern where she can get a cup of coffee. 

He also informs her that the hotel is out of business. But there’s an empty house that she can stay in, the former occupants are not coming back. 

Naturally this all seems a bit bit sketchy with Kadie, she’ll sleep in her car, she’s done it before and she’s not afraid to do it again. Her new friend informs her that isn’t a great idea and insists that she stay at the house.

And against better judgement, she does.

Now, gentle reader, this is where my normal review of the book stops. Why? Spoilers, baby! All I will tell you is that the town is a trap. Once you’re in, you can’t get out. A coven of Vampires own/run the town and keep the people there as a food source, would you believe there’s a love story involved in all of this?

And while this is a love story, this is also a truly terrifying book. The occupants of the town are unable to leave. No matter what they do or how they do it, they are trapped there. They also have no choice in the matter of being fed on. While the coven is mostly men, there is one woman in the coven of Vampires who apparently makes her chosen target do “evil and sick things.” The coven cares for their human captives as best as they can, providing food and shelter, they have no reason to work—though many of them do just to have something to do.

I actually wish this were the size of a Stephen King novel, because there is so much going on in this book, that you really want to see the outcome of certain things. Seeing as there are two more books in the series, I’ll have to give them a look. 

The book isn’t overtly violent or overly sexual, it has a nice balance of both. And I was actually fooled—even though I’d read the back of the book—that the hero, Saintcrow, doesn’t show up right away. I thought it was this other guy that was going to be the love interest and my brain apparently forgot because when the hero did show up, I was all, “Oh, wow . . . holy cheese, okay.” 

One of the best parts of the book is when Kadie, now living in the hero’s house, is told to go through some catalogs and get “whatever she wants,” and thinking that she’s going to teach Saintcrow a lesson and makes a list of the most expensive things she can find. Upon giving him the list, he looks it over and asks, “Is that all?” He doesn’t even blink at the stuff she’s asking for. 

This is a great book to curl up with on a cold autumn night with some wind whipping through the trees. 

My only complaint of the book—and I realize that this is a series—is that this book just wasn’t long enough. I truly wanted more story. Again, yes, I know this is a series, but when you read it, I think you’ll know what I mean.

Wonderfully spooky, perfectly frightening, and appropriately romantic, this is a great read for those days that are getting shorter.