The Art of Fire by Kirby Crow

4 Stars

I always enjoy a Kirby Crow story and this was no different.  The story of  Marik, the disgraced soldier and Grey, the much younger recruit sent to second him in his lonely outpost is short - novella length - never my favourite, but I loved it anyway.  It's Kirby's writing!

Both men have secrets.  There are some magical powers.  There is a lovely sex scene and a few expressions of affection.  There is danger, a bit of intrigue and a tease of things going on in the wider world. There's even some fun banter.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable read that while being complete in and of itself, left me wanting to know more about these two characters and the wider world in which they live.  And, oh, I did love Marik very much.  :)

Windward by Kirby Crow

4 Stars

Mirror - Book 2

This is a serious book!  Not for the faint-hearted, let me tell you.  And I loved it.  :)

We're back with Matty and Grant who still have so many things to iron out between them.  It's not an easy row to hoe by any means, love notwithstanding.  Are they to be allowed to do this by themselves?

Oh hell no.

If it's not interference and at times outright disapproval from Grant's family, it's the FBI come knocking with a request for Matty to help them out with the tracking down and capture of his ex-lover, the chilling assassin, Jaeger Koning.  And what's with Jaeger?  Well, nothing other than that he wants his one-time submissive, Matty, back where he belongs.  With Jaeger.

There's action.  There's banter.  There's humour.  There's emotion.  There's heart-stopping danger and there's moments that one is tempted to weep.   Seriously!

But the main strength in this book, I think, comes from the way the author brings us into the minds of the three main characters - Grant, Matty and Jaeger - sharing their thoughts and how their minds and their.. well... their selves are guided and formed by the power exchanges of D/s relationships.  I'm explaining it badly - who's surprised? - but I find the whole idea of power exchange to be sexy and heady and fascinating.

Loved it and I hope we may revisit the Mirror Universe at some point.  :)

Meridian by Kirby Crow

4 STARS

Mirror - Book 1

After the disappointment of the previous book I was reading and DNF, Meridian was a total joy to read! I knew it would be good because I really enjoy Kirby's work, but seeing as it's her first contemporary, there was always that slight possibility that things could go horribly wrong.

NOPE!!

First off, let me tell you, one of the MCs, Grant, is THIRTY-EIGHT years old!!! Stated clearly! He's not a kid! I can't tell you how much this thrilled me. So many of my fave authors seem to be gravitating towards the angst-filled 'new adult' characters and stories, that it was so wonderful to have a mature character and one who could bring the angst, trust me! And his younger love interest, Matty, isn't THAT young, he's twenty-seven, not really 'new'. *LOL*

The plot revolving around the assassin and the reason for Grant and Matty to come together works pretty decently - even if it did give me visions of Hotch and Reid at the BAU for a moment or two. *LOL* The villain of the piece, Jaeger, is menacing and evil and wicked and almost gave me the shivers. Had he more screen time, he'd have for sure given me the shivers.

The secondary characters, Grant's family and friends and Matty's friend/boss were terrific. Not cardboardy-cutout, but interesting, real people all on their own. (We don't see much of him but I have to tell you, I cheered out loud for Henry!) And if this is a series, I can say that I did not immediately spot the next couple, if indeed I spotted a couple at all! Which is rare in m/m, folks, and something that drives me insane.

But you know... I wonder if Grant and Matty's story is finished. Yeah, I'm very pleased with the HEA as it played out in the end, but man... there are threads dangling! And I'm reminded that Ty & Zane of Abi Roux's Cut & Run series got their happy and continued to have adventures, so.... we shall have to see what Kirby has planned. :)

OH! The sexy, BDSM, intimate love story. Well... it was very, very hot. No toys or role-play or costumes or any of that stuff, just Dom/sub power exchanges that are beautifully fascinating! And it's so wonderful to see a Dom that has a goofy at times sense of humour and the capacity for being so corny that he actually made me chuckle out loud.

And BEAKIE!!! I cannot forget Beakie!!! That's one special bird!

Anyway... I loved it and am looking forward to Mirror #2. :)

Malachite by Kirby Crow

4.5 STARS

The Paladin Cycle - Book 1

This is Book One of the Paladin Cycle and I cannot WAIT to read the others - Kirby had better get to writing!

I loved it. From it's gorgeous cover to a most satisfying ending, I just loved it. I loved the characters. All of them. The main characters, the supporting characters, the characters we just get a glimpse of. Loved 'em all. Well, maybe not Franny.... no, not Franny. *LOL*

The author has created a rich, full world with enough questions left unanswered to make me eager with anticipation for the next book. A land/country of just men. Exiles and misfits from other lands. It's quite interesting!

As I said, I loved all the characters. I think my favourite has to be Jean Rivard. He's so... not easy to get along with. :) What you get on the outside is not what lies on the inside and oh, he has secrets. We learn about some of them, but I have a feeling there are more under that layer of I Don't Give a Fuck. In fact, I'm pretty sure that there are a lot more secrets to be ferreted out of all the main characters. *rubs hands together gleefully* I can't WAIT!

The plot fairly clips along and there's a lot of action as well as many twists and turns that left me fairly clapping my hands together with glee (figuratively speaking). And yes, there's what might be termed romance, but I'm leery of using that word. There's love and there's sex and there's desire and want and just plain debauchery - but those aren't the main thrust (so to speak) of the story at all. But I have to admit - there are a couple of scenes - one near the end and one right at the end that were highly satisfying.

Read this book! I loved it!

Hammer and Bone by Kirby Crow

4 STARS

I will be honest, I bought this book because I enjoyed Kirby Crow's Scarlet and the White Wolf fantasy series and because I adore this book cover. I am not normally fond of short stories that are not part of an established universe and dark stories aren't my favourites either. But you know... living dangerously because that's a damned gorgeous cover.

Do NOT read the stories in this book expecting romances. They are not the HEAs you're looking for. What they are though, is damned fine writing. And dark... oooh my goodness, even the ones that have somewhat happyish endings are still dark. I felt as if I was bathing in luxurious prose while reading and it was a lovely feeling.

The stories were good. Very good. My faves were Knights of the Risen God and Sundog.

So in the end, I was very pleasantly surprised and would not hesitate to recommend this book to folks in search of dark, speculative fiction starring a nicely diverse cast of characters.

And that cover!!!

The Land of Night by Kirby Crow

3.5 STARS

Scarlet and the White Wolf - Book 3

This, the third and final installment of the Scarlet and the White Wolf series, was probably the best and I would like to give it a 3.5 stars instead of the 3. 

What made this volume better for me was the advent of some secondary characters that captured my affections. Liall's younger brother, the scholar sent to help Scarlet navigate the northern court, Liall's major domo, Liall's mother... I became attached to them all. :)

I found little of the Liall I had grown to enjoy in this novel - his wildness, his restrained violence, it was almost missing as he negotiated the return to his home court. I missed the Kasiri bandit a lot. All in all, it was a somewhat satisfying ending to the tale, although the plot twist that took it from a fantasy universe to a type of AU (alternate universe) was kind of lost on me. I didn't think the story needed it and would have been stronger without it. It was almost a cop-out on some good world-building. 

So, in the end, an enjoyable read and I will add Kirby Crow on my list of authors that I will read.

Mariner's Luck by Kirby Crow

3 STARS

Scarlet and the White Wolf - Book 2

First off, I must reiterate that I nearly pitched the e-reader across the room at the way this book ended. Seriously, I think it might have been better all around if the author had put all 3 books of the series together in one volume. This, volume 2, is a short, quick read and the ending comes so abruptly that I was annoyed. I see no reason for the split at all and I'm hesitant to think it was done because of greed. 

That being said, I enjoyed this installment of Scarlet and Liall's adventures. I enjoyed the dance of attraction on the ship, although I was a bit dismayed at Scarlet's um... virginal innocence? He didn't come across that way in the first book. It was almost too much. I found myself wanting him to discuss more things with Liall, though. More about how he felt about the sex acts after what he'd seen in the bhorus (I think that's how it's spelled.)houses. 

The other part that I thought should have had more attention paid to it, was Scarlet's part in the defense of the ship when it was attacked by the 'pirates'. At the very least, his reaction to using his talent should have been noted by someone. All in all, this is an enjoyable series, but had the author taken more time with everything - character building, world building, plotting etc... it could truly be a great series. There is no doubt that I'll get/read the third book - it's just starting to get good, after all!!

Scarlet & the White Wolf by Kirby Crow

3 STARS

Scarlet & the White Wolf - Book 1

That's it? 

*shakes e-reader to see if anything falls out* 

Seriously, that's IT? :/ Damn, that's disappointing. I was really starting to get into this book and root for the characters and suddenly - it finished. 

Yes, I know it's the first book in a series, but honestly, it felt more like a Part One of what should be the first book in a series. (I'm trying not to feel a little manipulated.) We met the characters, got a feel for the world in which they live, saw glimpses and glimmers of their personalities, had more than a few questions thrown our way (precious few, if any, answered, BTW.) - and then... that was it.

I was really starting to enjoy the characters. Scarlet and Liall have their mysteries and by the end of the book we're starting to see many of the more subtle parts of their personalities - beyond big, bad Northern guy and small, pretty, young guy with the 'special powers'. I also found myself wanting to know more about secondary characters Peysho and Kio and hope we'll be seeing more of them in books to come.

The world-building was decently done, but again, seeing as this felt like only the first quarter of a good, juicy book, it felt incomplete. (The one thing I miss about e-books is either the lack of maps for these worlds or if there IS one, the inability just to flip easily to it for reference) I would have given this book at least 4 stars, maybe even 5, if it didn't feel like I was deliberately left dangling in the worst of ways. 

I will move on to Volume #2, because I'm intrigued by the characters and the writing itself was quite good. I just hope I don't feel the same manipulation at the end of it. :/