Elizabeth Peters doesn't lack in imagination. In this seventh opus in the Amelia Peabody series, she manages to slip several enemies, an amnesia, a kidnapping... There is also more room for feelings and emotions, I felt. Amelia's distress at her husband's misfortune (do of that word what you will ;) made the story more poignant than the previous books. I trust the series fans will find this book as enjoyable as the previous ones.

C'est Simenon et c'est Maigret, tout en atmosphère, en lecture des êtres humains, de leurs comportements, de leurs émotions. Sinon le coupable était un peu évident dans cette nouvelle. Une bonne petite lecture pour passer 20 minutes.

I put a five stars to this book but it could have been a four because my rating is really between the two numbers.

What I liked less: the heroin always have a last minute idea/plan/scheme that saves the day. I would appreciate the pattern being changed from time to time.
Sicarius the assassin, even though he's trained to be standoffish and to not show his emotions, and even though the story is seen through Amaranthe's eyes, lacks depth. Luckily, the prequel, told from his POV, helps to remedy that defficiency.

What I liked, a lot: the plot. How a law enforcer turns criminal due to circumstances but keeps her ethics and still tries to serve the Emperor even though the Emperor probably won't never know it. The books are full of action and surprises. There's no being bored.
The secondary characters, especially Books and Maldynado.
The world building: so far it's coherent, with a tiny barely-there touch of steampunk.
The romance: it's there but at times, you have to squint to see it. It's more hints, what-could-have-happened that full bloom romance. Ther's no being overwhelmed by the maleness of that one or the sweet smile of that one.

I hope Lindsay Buroker will grow in her author's skin because I really liked that first book in her series and I hope to be as entertained by the sequels as I have been by the Emperor's Edge.

So if you want

This series started very promising but after a while, the heroin's obsession with clearing her name becomes tiresome, though. As is the pattern: Amaranthe (or sometimes Books) imagines a crazy scheme, the team follows, everything around them explodes but they come out alive. However there is enough action and plot development to keep me interested in reading the rest. It loks like book five will break the pattern a bit and I'm looking forward to it.

I liked this book enough to read it through and to start the sequel but I have some issues with the Mary-suesque way the heroin goes from surviving to being powerful. The side characters are a lot more interesting, especially Leo and the elf general. Oh, and Myn. I like Myn a lot.

This book earns more 2.5 than a 3 from me. The storyline is good but there's something lacking... Some deeply empathic characters seem devoid of emotions when one they love dies. The description of action scenes is often confusing. I've come too far into the story not to be curious about the fate of some characters but this series won't be among my favorites.

as in previous books, Lindsay Buroker's strength resides in writing very likable characters, at times bordering on the -suesque, but you can't help but root for them. And there's no dead moment in her books.

I hesitated between 4 and 5 for the rating but opted for 5 because this book is that dgood. In spite of there being a plot, the story is more character driven and the characters are well written, with qualities and flaws, even the "evil" ones. It's starting rather bleak but there's a hint of hope at the end. Now onto Shift.

rating 3,5/5

While the writing and characterisation were as good as in the first omnibus, this second opus hit right on one of my pet peeves: a very, very long return in the past. I wanted the plot started in the first book to go on! And while the backstory was interesting, while the first book wouldn't have the same savour if I had known all that is in Shift, it slowed down the plot. IMHO, Jimmy's story belonged to a companion novella. We had enough material in Wool to characterise him..

I was riveted by the story. I only regret that I could relate with so few characters: Lightsong, a god who doesn't believe in his religion, and Vivenna, the pious daughter of the king who will find herself stripped of all her holier-than-thou attitude by treason and trial. The political game was interesting and I'm pleased that I didn't guess people's real motivation until the end.

This collection is offered for free on Ilona Andrews' website as an end of year gift. There was at least one story I haven't read yet. It's a nice reading to tide one's over until the release of next book.

While still keeping my attention, this book was the worse in the series. Another villain steps onto the stage, nearly out of the blue (there are allusions to him in the previous book but barely more), is considered a real menace but is dispatched so easily... It doesn't fit with the rest of the plot.
But I liked that the heroin was intelligent and a strong woman. 2,5 stars.

This is a very promising start to a new series. It seems Lindsay Buroker gets better with each book. She still very much has her knack to writing characters and I don't remember getting bored reading her.

My actual rating is somewhere between 4 and 5. This book ends a very gritty, sometimes hard to read trilogy. With this opus, I was at first disappointed by the quick succession of voices but I got into it fast.
In spite of all the action, this book is actually character driven: how they react to the events, how the events seem to master them instead of the other way around ; there are no black and white in them, just people dealing with a situation according to their personality and means. There is no fluffy, happy ending, just hope for a better world.

I like all the novellas in the newsflesh world. They're not necessary to follow the main books plot but they shed light on the situation the characters go through and they're well written and entertaining (but not for the faint of hearts).

Even as an early work, it is still very good. Brandon Sanderson really knows how to end a short story.

I didn't read the stuff about the writing of the 4 short stories in this book. However, the four short stories themselves are very, very good. They don't feel rush, are rightly paced. These are authors who know what they're writing! I particularly liked Mary Robinette Kowal’s “A Fire in the Heavens”.

La BD ne vaut pas la série. de plus, l'histoire est disjointe. J'ai du mal à raccrocher les morceaux d'un épisode à l'autre. Je vais tout de même m'accrocher et lire le tome 2.

This series is always so entertaining, I wonder why I put off so long reading it.

I received this book in exchange of a honest review.

What I liked:
- Yanko's incertainties, fitting with his age
- the adventure and action. As usual with Lindsay Buroker, there's no getting bored
- Dak : enigmatic, broody but honourable (at least in his own way)

What I Liked less:
- the glossing over Yanko's moral dilemma about killing people
- Yanko's schemes are too much like Amaranthe's ones and at times, it felt like reading Amaranthe's story with a boy instead of a woman

In summary, an entertaining read which would better if it explored more in-depth the moral dilemma of the necessity, or not, of killing people.

I've never played the game this book is about but the story is amazing. It starts like fantasy and it ends like sci-fi but the transition is smooth and very well done.

I liked:
- the setting. It was nice to see more of Mangdorian
- the plot: well crafted enough, which is important for a plot driven novel
- the action : non-stop. I felt breathless just by reading the book

I liked less:
- Basilard's and Ashara's voices. They felt colourless to me. Their thoughts came in a loop (what of my people? What of my children?) or this is what it felt to me.

Humour, romance, a dash of mystery, a hint of paranormal (or imagination), what's not to like?

Que deux étoiles parce que l'auteur nous inflige des exposés sur le Paris de 1633 qui seraient plus intéressants dans un livre d'histoire que dans un roman dont ils cassent le rythme. De plus il dit trop et ne montre pas assez à mon goût. Par exemple, l'auteur nous dit que untel éprouve telle émotion à la vue d'un ami retrouvé au lieu de nous montrer l'émotion dans le personnage à travers ses réactions ou ses gestes.
Ceci dit l'intrigue est bien pensée et un petit rebondissement à la fin de ce 1er tome, qui se suffit à lui-même néanmoins, m'a incitée à continuer ma lecture.

I loved it! I laughed out loud, I nearly cried. I can't get enough of Jodi Taylor's works

Ce livre m'a paru meilleur que les précédents. J'ai eu l'impression que l'auteur avait réduit ses exposés sur l'histoire et la ville de Paris en 1633. D'ailleurs le point de vue du narrateur est un problème dans ces livres : il change trop souvent, ne laissant aucun temps aux personnages de bien se poser dans l'esprit du lecteur. Et quand le narrateur devient omniscient, c'est pour dire les choses au lecteur au lieu de le laisser voir ou deviner.
Ceci dit, l'histoire se déroule bien (pas au sens de tout est bien qui finit bien, toutefois) jusqu'à la fin qui laissera un goût doux-amer dans l'esprit de plus d'un lecteur mais qui sied à l'intrigue.

I was enchanted by this tale by Isabella Barclay/Jodi Taylor. The mystery part is a bit disappointing but it's really not the point of the plot. The romance was accompanied by the snark and humour I've come to expect from this author and it made for a very agreeable light reading.

The main character in this book is the Malazan empire. Or it felt like this to me. However I enjoyed this 2nd book even more than the first.

This book saw the return of characters from the 1st book: Paran, Whiskeyjack, the Bridgeburners... It's dark, very dark and gritty, though humour will ambush you at unexpected turns. It's a story about people and groups of people fighting a gruesome war.
Eriksson's magic system and pantheon are complex, it's like reading about an alien civilisation, and I loved every minute of it.

As is becoming the usual in this series, we lose characters and we get to know new ones. It's still as grisly and horrific at times, less humorous then the previous book. At times the characters' actions seem random; that was what I liked the less in this book. I however remain fascinated by this universe.