Review: A Question of Honor

Read from 7-8 May, 2017

Synopsis: With less than six months until his entrance exams for the famed Nurian warrior-mage academy, Yanko is sent to his uncle’s salt mine for “hardening,” as his father calls it. He expects endless days of physical labor; what he doesn’t expect is to have to choose one of the mine’s prisoners as a sparring partner.

Not wanting his uncle to think him a coward, Yanko picks a big scarred man from Turgonia, a land known for its ruthless warriors. Only after his selection does he learn that he’ll be expected to kill his opponent… before his opponent kills him.

Review: Republic by Lindsay Buroker

Read from January 04 to 23, 2016 — I own a copy

Synopsis: After the notorious outlaws Amaranthe and Sicarius helped overthrow the corrupt faction controlling the empire and brought in a great war hero to lead the nation to prosperity, they finally earned their pardons–and some time off. A tropical vacation cruising around in a private submarine? Perfect. But their trip is interrupted by a summons from the new president: they’re needed back at home. Trouble unlike anything they’ve ever dealt with threatens to destroy the capital city and throw the fledgling republic into chaos.

The follow-up to The Emperor’s Edge series, Republic takes place a few months after the events of Forged in Blood I & II. It is a complete 210,000-word novel.

Review: Decrypted by Lindsay Buroker

Read from July 16 to 29, 2015

Synopsis: Professor Tikaya Komitopis knew that bringing Admiral Rias Starcrest home to meet her family wouldn’t be easy, not when he led the fleet that decimated her nation during the war. She isn’t surprised when people believe she’s been brainwashed, that Rias is still loyal to the empire, and that he has nefarious plans for her homeland. She is, however, surprised when Rias’s designs to build a submarine lead them to stumble across an ancient secret shrouded in mystery, time, and lies.

If revealed, this secret could mean devastation for Tikaya’s entire nation. It could also mean choosing between her people… and the man she loves.

Decrypted is the sequel to Encrypted and is loosely tied in with the author’s “Emperor’s Edge” series.

Review: Solstice Day Gifts by Lindsay Buroker

Read from June 25 to 26, 2015 — I own a copy

Synopsis: After a year full of adventure, intrigue, and tragedy, Sicarius agrees to spend Solstice Day on a tropical island with Amaranthe, resting and relaxing far away from the chaos of the new republic. But there are a couple of problems. First off, the island is riddled with old wanted posters of Sicarius, along with countless people who would like to collect the bounty. Second… Amaranthe is hoping for a Solstice Day gift.

Sicarius, having never given a gift in his life, finds the second problem far more daunting.

This holiday-themed short story takes place after Forged in Blood II and before Republic.

Review: Degrees of Delusion by Lindsay Buroker

Read from June 21 to 22, 2015

Synopsis: After being publicly shamed and kicked out of the imperial service academy, Fortis chose to serve in the only other way possible: as a mercenary.

Working far from the boundaries of his homeland, he never thought he’d have anything to do with the empire again… until a powerful wizard hires the company to destroy an imperial outpost. Fortis must choose between betraying his captain and comrades or firing on the very men he once dreamed of joining.

Degrees of Delusion is a 9,000-word short story.

Wounded

Read from April 24 to 26, 2014

Synopsis: When Tara Blankenship’s writing assignment takes her to an “eco village” on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, she anticipates a quiet couple of weeks in a quaint setting. (She’s far too mature to use the word boring, thank you very much.) What she stumbles into is anything but quiet and quaint.

Someone has been slaughtering livestock to scare the villagers, mysterious intruders are searching the property at night, and Tara finds a grisly welcome-warning on the porch of her guest cottage. To top it off, the surly neighbor nearly runs her off the road on her first day. Why are the handsome ones always such jerks?

Malcolm Ashcroft is the last person a sane woman would want to deal with, but he may be the only one with the key to solving the mystery—and giving Tara the story of her career. Of course… he might also be the man behind all the trouble.

Bookish things: 181 pages – the cover displays one of the key locations of the story. It’s rather serene and light. This does make it seem more like a fluffy romance, not a sleuthing mystery with a little romance.

Where to buy: Amazon on kindle for $2.81

My review:

Bookshelves: 3-star-review, a-lil-sexy, awesome-authors, hot-men, indie-author, romance-ish, smirk-worthy

Wounded is a short, reasonably sweet romance with strong mystery ties. It’s also the first of Lindsay’s books outside of her usual fantasy/steampunk-esque genre that I’ve read.

The sleuthing protagonist, Tara, reminded me a bit of Lindsay’s most awesome character, Amaranthe (from The Emperor’s Edge series), but outside of that, the similarities were few.

The ‘wounded’ love interest was quite nice to look at (or read about) and fit the bill for the story quite nicely, but I was expecting some of Lindsay’s usual quirkiness. This wasn’t apparent. I did enjoy the rather intriguing job history though. Lindsay taught me a few things in this book.

The dialogue was Lindsay’s usual witty banter-like style, which is always a pleasure to read. I enjoyed the barely veiled flirting and sexual innuendos that were sprinkled into the story.

The mystery/thriller story was a bit strange. It worked, but it didn’t sit right. I also felt it was quite rushed at the end.

I didn’t really see why the book is called Wounded, it doesn’t seem to fit the story in my mind. I thought something suitably geekish in the mushroom field could have worked better, especially if it were to be used as a bit of a joke in the story.

The editing in my version was a little less polished than Lindsay’s usual books, but the typos didn’t really subtract from the story.