Booklog 44 and 45/2021: Ursula Vernon: Black Dogs #1 & #2

The House of Diamond, and The Mountain of Iron
I'm reviewing these together because it's really one story in two books.

In The House of Diamond Lyra is orphaned in one violent incursion into her previously peaceful home led by her bastard half-brother. The House of Volfrieds was one of the most important houses on the River Tanglelore, but now it's destroyed. She escapes by hiding in a cupboard and runs off ill prepared for survival. She's found by Sadrao, a dog soldier, literally a sentient upright dog-person with warrior skills and an inbuilt need to protect. She goes from a sheltered comfortable life to a tough life on the road while Sadrao tries to teach her to fight. They meet up with Sadrao's old friend Sinai and her lover Jacyl, elves of Anu'tintavel who have been charged with transporting the half-elf Trent to the mind wizards of the House of Diamond. Trent is the son of dark wizard Vade, got by rape on Sinai's cousin, the elf Lythara. The mind wizards should be able to ascertain whether he's genuinely escaped from his father or whether he's a plant, not to be trusted. They meet dangers on the road and Lyra gradually falls for Trent, so when the House of Diamond turns out to be not what they all expected, she has to carry out a daring rescue.

 

In the Mountain of Iron, Lyra, Trent and Sadrao are journeying to warn the elves of danger from Trent's wizard father, Vade, along with Spite and Gunnar, an acerbic Ferran and a giant Slothan. A storm of cataclysmic proportions separates Lyra from her companions and she's trapped in a cave system full of sentient, evil hyena-people. She escapes, but accepts hospitality from the wrong person, and meets Kuroinu. Lyra is devastated when Trent is recaptured by his father, but it's not the only shock she'll receive. Lyara's new talents, learned on the journey, are going to come in handy for a battle she never expected to have to fight.

 

Apparently these books were written when Ursula Vernon was still in her teens, so <respect>. They show the development of the writer that is to come.

 

 

 

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Booklog 46/2021: Stephanie Garber: Once Upon a Broken Heart

Until I read some Goodreads reviews after finishing this book, I didn't realise that there had been a previous series set in the same universe with overlapping characters. To be honest I didn't find it a problem to step into this world at this point. What I did find was a problem was discovering, right at the end, that this is not a standalone. It didn't so much conclude as finish somewhere in the middle of the story. Don't get me wrong, I like series and trilogies, but I do need each book to have a satisfying ending, and sadly this didn't. Until the last page I was enjoying this book.

Evangeline is in love with love, but when her stepsister steals her boyfriend and leads him to the altar, she makes a bad bargain with Jacks, an immortal Fate. When she asked Jacks to stop the wedding, she didn't intend the whole wedding party to be turned into stone. Wishes have unforeseen consequences, and Evangeline spends the rest of the book getting deeper with Jacks, whom she doesn't trust but can't hate. Jacks has a plan, and Evangeline is an unwitting part of it. She's whisked off to the cold north where she catches the eye of Prince Apollo… or does she? Is there magic at work? Expect magic, court politics, several Fates, and a handful of vampires. Don't expect a satisfying ending. I think you'll have to read the whole series for that, and unfortunately the next book isn't out yet.