Mrs. Claus by Rhonda Parrish, editor

November 20, 2017 By 3 Comments


Mrs. Claus by Rhonda Parrish, editor
Publisher: World Weaver Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Holiday, Horror, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (214 pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

When you think of Mrs. Claus, do you imagine a quiet North Pole homebody who finds complete fulfillment in baking cookies, petting reindeer and crafting toys alongside elves? How about a magic-wielding ice goddess, or a tough-as-nails Valkyrie? Or maybe an ancient fae of dubious intentions, or a well-meaning witch? Could Mrs. Claus be a cigar-smoking Latina, or a crash-landed alien? Within these pages Mrs. Claus is a hero, a villain, a mother, a spacefarer, a monster hunter, and more. The only thing she decidedly is not, is a sidekick.
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It’s Mrs. Claus’ turn to shine and she is stepping out of Santa’s shadow and into the spotlight in these fourteen spectacular stories that make her the star! Featuring original short stories by Laura VanArendonk Baugh, C.B. Calsing, DJ Tyrer, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Kristen Lee, Randi Perrin, Michael Leonberger, Andrew Wilson, Ross Van Dusen, MLD Curelas, Maren Matthias, Anne Luebke, Jeff Kuykendall, and Hayley Stone.

Santa might have demanded the lion’s share of the attention in the old myths about the North Pole, but that’s all about to change for good reason!

In “The Asylum Musicale,” Lizzie, a patient at an asylum, quickly began to wonder where Yessica Klaus, the newest patient there, had come from and why she seemed to be capable of things that no one else could do. The foreshadowing in the early scenes was excellent. I especially liked Lizzie’s descriptions of her life before she was committed and how she responded to Yessica when she began to feel threatened by her. She was a complex person who seemed to believe several contradictory things at once, so it was a lot of fun to weigh the various things she told the audience against each other and come up with my own theories about what was going on before the big reveal at the end.

All of the stories in this collection were creative, diverse, and well written. I never would have guessed that Mrs. Claus could be interpreted in so many different ways or that she could be frightening in one plot and sympathetic in the next. “You’d Better Watch Out” was the only tale that I thought could have used a little more plot development. While I loved the idea of Nick and Fianna Claus adopting a house full of children, I would liked to see a little more time spent on explaining why Fianna ended up with such an unusual part-time job and how she and her husband decided to take in so many kids. With a little more development, this instalment easily would have been my favourite part of the entire book.

“Good Morning” followed Nick and Eve on the one day of the year when they awoke from their slumber and used powerful magic to help Nick deliver presents to every home on Earth. By far the best part of the storyline were the references to who these characters were before they became Santa and Mrs. Claus. One of the things I’ve always found most thought provoking about this couple was how little attention anyone ever paid to why these beings gave away presents or how they ended up together. This story had the most inventive take on their backstories by far, and I deeply enjoyed reading it.

I’d heartily recommend Mrs. Claus to anyone who loves modern spins on traditional fairy tales.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

SonofaWitch! by Laura VanArendonk Baugh, Sara Dobie Bauer, Lissa Marie Redmond, Frances Pauli, Mara Malins, and Adam Millard.

September 26, 2017 By Leave a Comment


SonofaWitch! by Laura VanArendonk Baugh, Sara Dobie Bauer, Lissa Marie Redmond, Frances Pauli, Mara Malins, and Adam Millard
Publisher: World Weaver Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (187 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

No one is perfect—not even a witch. Witches have amazing power at their fingertips to do unbelievable things. That magic can come in really handy sometimes too. They can make someone fall in love, poison an apple to enact a sleeping curse, banish an enemy to an alternate reality, or just conjure up some Nutella when there is none in the house.

But what happens when those spells go horribly awry?

SonofaWitch! contains six humorous contemporary fantasy stories of magic spells gone wrong by Laura VanArendonk Baugh, Sara Dobie Bauer, Lissa Marie Redmond, Frances Pauli, Mara Malins, and Adam Millard.

Modern magic is far more complicated than it might first appear to be.
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The main character in “Good Spell Gone Bug” agreed to get a tattoo in order to earn money to pay off a debt. It wasn’t until the tattoo began to cause her some odd health problems that main character decided to break the rules and try to get rid of it regardless of the consequences. Ms. VanArendonk Baugh’s writing was filled with creative moments. I never knew what she was going to shock her characters with next, and that made it hard to stop reading.

Violet had an unrequited crush in “The Trouble with Love Spells,” and she thought the best way to fix it was to put a love spell on the guy she desired. Ms. Bauer’s twist to the spell made me gasp. It was the last thing I would have expected to happen, but it fit the tone of this tale perfectly. I also enjoyed the fact that the main character was so flexible when her plans didn’t exactly turn out the way she thought they would.

James owned a coffee shop that catered to fairy tale characters in “All the Petty Curses.” I was amused by seeing how he interacted with everyone from Hansel and Gretel to the Big Bad Wolf. While I enjoyed seeing how many references to classic fairy tales Ms. Redmond fit into James’ daily life, the number of characters running around the scenes was so high that I had trouble keeping track of what everyone was doing. It would have been nice to focus on a smaller number of people instead.

All Rowan wanted was to fall in love with the perfect man. What surprised me the most about her and her dog Rex’s adventures in “The Perfect Mate Fiasco” was how she reacted when she woke up the next morning and realized her spell had come true but not in the exact way she’d hoped. Ms. Pauli made me chuckle as I followed Rowan through her strange day and waited to see if she’d accept the soulmate she’d been given.

“A Matter of Perspective” showed what happened to a witch named Olyvar after he failed to learn how to make one of the simplest potions his instructor knew of. After he carelessly tossed a tatty root ball and watched it land in his potion, he and a few other members of the class were magically transported far away from home. Olyvar and his companions had intelligent reactions to their predicament, especially once they realized just how far away they’d really landed. I was especially impressed with how calm they were after they arrived. The plot twists only became more creative after that! Ms. Malins put plenty of obstacles in their paths, and that it made hard to stop reading until I knew how it would all end.

The first sentence of “A Poppet Named Dave” was as shocking as it was memorable: “River Everbleed had only been a witch for an hour when her head came off.” I giggled when I read it, and then I dove back into the story to find out what River had done to deserve such a fate. Don’t worry, though. It wasn’t gory. If anything, it reminded me of how it feels to learn any new skill and be terrible at it in the beginning. Mr. Millard captured that feeling perfectly, and I only grew more impressed with his writing style as I settled into the plot and realized what River was actually trying to learn to do with her magic lessons.

SonofaWitch! is a must-read for anyone who loves modern fantasy.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Equus by Rhonda Parrish (editor)

July 11, 2017 By 1 Comment


Equus by Rhonda Parrish (editor)
Publisher: World Weaver Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (331 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

There’s always something magical about horses, isn’t there? Whether winged or at home in the water, mechanical or mythological, the equines that gallop through these pages span the fantasy spectrum. In one story a woman knits her way up to the stars and in another Loki’s descendant grapples with bizarre transformations while fighting for their life. A woman races on a unique horse to save herself from servitude, while a man rides a chariot through the stars to reclaim his self-worth. From steampunk-inspired stories and tales that brush up against horror to straight-up fantasy, one theme connects them all: freedom.

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What it means to be a horse, unicorn, or other horse-like creature is about to be redefined.

In “A Complete Mare,” a girl named Vez discovered that she was part Norse deity after that part of her bloodline activated and her body began to change. What I liked the most about her transformation was her reaction to it. There was so much time spent developing Vez’s personality that her reaction to her previously unknown lineage made perfect sense. I wouldn’t have expected her to behave in any other way.

While I enjoyed all of the tales in this anthology, some of them could have used some more development. For example, the main character in “Different” travelled a long distance and spent a great deal of money to ask a unicorn to heal her disabled daughter. The unicorn’s response wasn’t anything like she had expected it to be. While I loved the premise, I couldn’t help but to wonder why the main character hadn’t spent more time researching how unicorn healings work. It’s one of the first things I would have done in that situation, so it struck me as odd that someone would go through all of that effort without figuring out in advance what to expect from such a journey.

One of my favorite stories was “Rue the Day.” Gaylene, the main character, was a unicorn trainer who regularly rode into battle with her unicorns. When something threatened to end her career forever, she had to decide how to respond to it. While I figured out what was going on in Gaylene’s life pretty quickly, but that only made me more curious to see how her dilemma would be resolved. This could have easily been expanded into a full-length novel. With that being said, I was satisfied with how it ended.

Equus should be read by anyone who loves everything equestrian.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Omega Rising by Anna Kyle

September 29, 2016 By Leave a Comment

omega
Omega Rising by Anna Kyle
Publisher: World Weaver Press
Genre: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (285 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Daisy

Cass Nolan has been forced to avoid the burn of human touch for her whole life, drawing comfort instead from her dreams of a silver wolf—her protector, her friend. When her stalking nightmares return, her imaginary dead sister’s ghost tells her to run, Cass knows she should listen, but the sinfully hot stranger she just hired to work on her ranch has her mind buzzing with possibilities. Not only does her skin accept Nathan’s touch, it demands it. Cass must make a decision—run again and hope she saves the people who have become her family, or stand and fight. Question is, will it be with Nathan or against him?

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Ms. Kyle’s tale takes us on a real adventure, peopled with a mismatch of supernatural characters. We meet a range of shapeshifters and learn about a variety of supernatural talents. As the first book in a series, Omega Rising sets the scene and builds a realistic world.

The characters who work at the stables have their own distinct personalities and back stories. The protagonist, Cass, especially. I liked the unusual handicap she had, though I did feel its interaction with her love interest was a little corny and predictable. That said, the love interest came just how I like them – dark, dangerous, and with a heart that sets its sights on the right girl. You certainly won’t be disappointed by the bedroom antics – these characters love a hot romp under the sheets, and enjoy teasing each other with new and experimental ideas! The man here is definitely in charge, but the woman won’t take a stupid decision without complaint, or a fight. In fact, in this regard, she soon sets him to rights.

I enjoyed the small mysteries which were revealed throughout and felt these were well handled, but I did feel that the shapeshifting wolves that arrived late to the party could have done with more history behind them, and more to differentiate them. As it was, they multiplied the total character count and at times I found myself forgetting who was who! It didn’t help that on a few occasions I felt like I had missed a step in the plot. Suddenly a character was much happier around another character they were wary of before, or a conclusion was made about a small detail of plot that was easy to miss. This could be because the pace throughout the book was very high, and, therefore, smaller details were easier to overlook.

Readers should also be aware that there are some potentially trigger-worthy pasts discussed. Cass has a history of abuse and the romantic interest has also been manipulated but none of these acts take place in real time.

All in all, I would really recommend this book to romance and fantasy lovers. The weight is more towards romance than fantasy, but I can see that the novel is establishing a world for later development and using the lens of a strong romance to do so. For those of you who like to see different side characters paired off, the potential for that with this book is there in spades. A mythical past of the supernatural world appears to be being resurrected alongside this mottled crew of survivors, and I look forward to seeing it progress into a fantasy tale with worldwide implications for the supernatural community.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Murder in the Generative Kitchen by Meg Pontecorvo

September 19, 2016 By Leave a Comment

KITCHEN
Murder in the Generative Kitchen by Meg Pontecorvo
Publisher: World Weaver Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Short Story (81 pgs)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

With the Vacation Jury Duty system, jurors can lounge on a comfortable beach while watching the trial via virtual reality. Julio is loving the beach, as well as the views of a curvy fellow juror with a rainbow-lacquered skin modification who seems to be the exact opposite of his recent ex-girlfriend back in Chicago. Because of jury sequestration rules, they can’t talk to each other at all, or else they’ll have to pay full price for this Acapulco vacation. Still, Julio is desperate to catch her attention. But while he struts and tries to catch her eye, he also becomes fascinated by the trial at hand.

At first it seemed a foregone conclusion that the woman on trial used a high-tech generative kitchen to feed her husband a poisonous meal, but the more evidence mounts, the more Julio starts to suspect the kitchen may have made the decision on its own.

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The story is set in 2060 and lots of things have changed in the world. Jurors no longer have to be present in courtrooms and can instead take luxury vacations while viewing the proceedings. Even bots have replaced attorneys.

Sound like fun? Well it is until the main character, Julio, sets his sights on a fellow juror, Iris, but it’s a no-no to interact with one another during the trial. Part of the fun of the story is how Julio tries to find ways around the situation to get Iris’ attention.

However, the real focus of the story is the trial. A woman is accused of poisoning her husband with the help of her generative kitchen. A state of the art, futuristic one that reads the person’s biometrics and adjusts the food accordingly. While it looks like an open and shut case, Julio isn’t convinced that the wife is the guilty party and could technology have played a role?

I loved the intermingling of the murder mystery with the sci fi elements. I thought it was a refreshing change to the usual whodunit. I loved all the information the author provided about this kitchen of the future. It was almost like it was another character in the story.

I won’t give away the ending but if like me you’re always on the look-out for something different to read in the mystery genre, I say give this novella a try.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Sirens by Rhonda Parrish (editor)

July 27, 2016 By Leave a Comment

SIRENS
Sirens by Rhonda Parrish (editor)
Publisher: World Weaver Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (277 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sirens are beautiful, dangerous, and musical, whether they come from the sea or the sky. Greek sirens were described as part-bird, part-woman, and Roman sirens more like mermaids, but both had a voice that could captivate and destroy the strongest man. The pages of this book contain the stories of the Sirens of old, but also allow for modern re-imaginings, plucking the sirens out of their natural elements and placing them at a high school football game, or in wartime London, or even into outer space.

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The ocean is full of creatures we haven’t figured out yet.

In “The Fisherman and the Golem,” Ged purchased an unusual-looking golem to do his housekeeping while he was out fishing. He named the golem Lucette and soon grew quite attached to her. What I liked the most about his tale were all of the twists in it. There were a lot of surprises packed into a pretty short amount of space, and that made it impossible for me to stop reading until I’d discovered everything that happened to Ged and Lucette.

Nearly all of the stories in this collection were extremely well done. There were a few, though, that could have used a little more development. “Safe Waters” was one of them. The plot followed a woman named Lina who downloaded her consciousness into a synthetic mermaid body while on vacation. The lagoon she swam around was safe and beautiful, but she soon discovered something about it that none of the advertisements for this get-away had mentioned. I really enjoyed the storyline itself, but there were certain parts of Lina’s character development that never made sense to me because there wasn’t a lot of time spent on her personality. I would have liked to get to know her better as an individual so that I could have more clearly understood certain choices that she made. The choices themselves fit in perfectly with what was going on. What I didn’t understand was why she thought they were the best decisions for her.

My favourite part of “The Fisherman’s Catch” was watching Jim, the main character, react to meeting his old friend Burt’s new girlfriend. Jim and Burt had known each other for so many years that they could tell what their buddy was thinking with a single glance. This brought out a great deal of the humor in those scenes that I might not have otherwise noticed. I also appreciated the fact that Jim was so open with the audience about what he was thinking and feeling. Knowing so much about him made me unbelievably curious to see what he would do next.

Sirens is an imaginative anthology that I’d heartily recommend to anyone who wants to be swept away to another time and place.

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