Laura Anne Gilman

I'm not a fan of the Wild West so I was not expecting to love this book but I did. It was so original and immediate. You really felt like you were in this young girl's head as she stumbled through her initiation into life "on the road" and in her new role.
I liked all the characters because they felt like real people, flawed but all with some good in them.
The way magic works was intriguing as were the monstrous creatures she encounters.
It was gritty but not so much that it was painful to read.

I'm embarrassed by how long I had this book, buried in a to-read stack, but the important thing is that I finally read it and I greatly enjoyed it once it got going. Gilman created a unique fantasy world based on wine magic. Yes, wine magic. Jerzy is a teenage boy, a slave toiling in a vineyard, but his master notices the magical inclination that Jerzy tries to hide. All Vinearts arise from slavery. Jerzy soon finds himself immersed in a totally different life as he is tutored in the ways of show more wine, as well as fighting and culture. He's pushed hard in his training as clues emerge about a threat against not only the Vinearts, but people across the disparate realms.

I can see how the pace of this book might turn off some readers; it's all about worldbuilding. Me, I'm a worldbuilding geek. I love the details that Gilman went into to describe the ways of Vinearts, and the whole structure of the overall world. It is fascinating! show less

Totally glad to be back in the world, and the vast majority of the book was strong and fascinating. Unfortunately, the ending was... confusing? A bit of a fizzle? Just not really there? I read it a couple of times trying to figure out what exactly happens that sorts the long-building situation out and I got: a magician. And also if you aren't part of the bargain that keeps the territory alive, the territory will cease to be alive and this is what that will look like, ok? And it just didn't show more come together for me. Anyway, I hope that adventures continue in this world, because it's a heck of a world. show less

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
allthingsuf.com

DRAGON JUSTICE is a book that belongs to many genres while simultaneously playing with the boundaries and conventions of all of them. Urban fantasy, but with a strong procedural flavor. Book four in a series, but with events that affect both the standalone mystery of DRAGON JUSTICE and the greater world in which the PUPs operate. A well structured, standalone mystery, but with“clues” commingled with background noise and longer show more arc story lines. The common thread between all these elements is Gilman’s seemingly endless creativity.

As much admiration as I have for Gilman’s world building and narrative style, I can’t emphasize enough how her characters always manage to sneak into my heart. Just as The Retrievers series seduced me with Wren, P.B., and Sergei, so too have Bonnie and the PUPs managed to charm me. Gilman doesn’t write easy, two dimensional relationships, which often means it takes longer for me to get a handle on group dynamics and get attached. The flip side of this coin, however, is that her characters have a core of realism that holds up well to scrutiny. While I was interested in Bonnie in HARD MAGIC, it was not until PACK OF LIES that I was ready to give up my attachment to Wren and invest myself in this new series. DRAGON JUSTICE is the peak of my love for Bonnie and her PUPs, to the point where I hope this isn’t our last chance to read along with their adventures. Though the narrative thread became a little frayed in the last few chapters (with a few events being explained in hindsight and some rather flat resolutions), to be honest, even these shortcomings lend support to the realistic feel of the book. Life is not always neat, even when it has a happy ending.

I’ve always hoped for more crossover between Bonnie and Wren, and DRAGON JUSTICE delivers in spades. Having Wren’s series end is less sad knowing that she’s still ghosting through the background of Bonnie’s books, and I hope DRAGON JUSTICE isn’t my last opportunity to check in with the Cosa Nostradamus. Whether with Wren, Bonnie, or any one of the well written supporting characters, I look forward to any opportunity to revisit Gilman’s world.

Sexual Content: References to sex and a scene of sensuality. show less