Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston

Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So much fun. So, so much. I've been waiting for this book for months, and when I finally got it, I waited for a day on which I could read with no interruptions, and devoured the entire thing in one sitting.

It's comfort reading, that's for sure. Perhaps it sounds weird to categorise as "comfort" a book in which characters are disembowelled in a particularly gruesome fashion, siblings are constantly beating up on each other, there is ultra-violent sports and lots of screaming - oh my god the screaming! - but there it is. What can I say? I hate crassness in general, but in the case of this particular series, the way it's written just - works. Humour, sarcasm, violence, making one's own family, women kicking butt - this series has it all (in spades).

I've been wanting to read more about Mads and the basketball team for a while now - they were suitably nutso in the earlier Honey Badger instalments. Mads also has the worst family ever - which we knew from the first Honey Badger book. But what I love about this series - and the connected ones like Pride - is that the story is never simply about one couple. These are ensemble casts for a reason - the main characters have to have their families (blood or otherwise - and some blood families can be nightmares at best) to riff off. So it definitely helps to have read the preceding books.

The MacKilligan sisters march to the beat of their own drum, and unfortunately for the Malone brothers, that drum's come to their door. The Malones can be complete twits - certainly, the utter absurdity of how they burned the bridges with the very women who could help them and then tried clumsily to fix the situation is a case in point.

And, with that slow spreading smile, she said, “One day . . . your baby sister is going to come to me and ask me a question about men and dating”—she leaned away from her friends and toward the brothers—“and I’m going to tell her every. f***ing. thing.”

Which brings me to the snark. And the action. As I've said in other reviews, I'm an action junkie. Well-written action jumps off the page and into my head as though I were watching a movie. These might not be the battles she writes as GA Aiken, but Laurenston has a deft hand with action sequences and they are by turns gory, bloody, violent and thrilling.

To apex predators, badgers were nothing more than an add-on to their value meal. To honey badgers, however . . . their kind were apex predators—and damn proud of it.

The series has moved far beyond the romance and almost-every-chapter sex of the earlier instalments, and honestly, it works. One sex scene - and a pretty hot one at that - shows up somewhere in the final third of the book, and what I liked about it is that it wasn't part of some long, flirty, slow-burn romance. Mads and Finn are not those kinds of people. In fact, it took their family and friends (even the arrogant lunkhead Keane) to point out to them that they even liked each other. No soulful stares or hitching breath or romantic encounters. Their first date was all about the food, and even while they were packing it away, that scene came with huge but quiet emotion as we met more people who were more important in Mads' life than her actual blood family.

The rest of the book was taken up by intrigue, action, inter-clan shifter politics, and basketball team madness. The running joke about the house that Mads buys and that Nelle decorates in 24 hours with, well, EVERYTHING that Mads likes is freaking hilarious. Especially the condoms.

That was when they all bolted, trying to make it to freedom.
But Mads just wasn’t fast enough. Max grabbed the back of her T-shirt and held her.
Mads held her arms out toward her teammates. Tock began to come back toward her but Streep caught her arm and yanked her toward the front of the house.
“Forget her! Just run!”
Treacherous bitches!

Looking forward to the next few in the series - there were certainly sparks between the remaining Malone brothers and a couple of the basketball team members. I want to read more about Tonks and Streep, for one, especially after the utterly hysterical scene in the plane in which everyone refused to use the words "friends" or "love", just to get up Streep's nose. I want to read more about Shay the dog-loving tiger who is mocked for treating his pets so well because he's a predator. I'd like to smack young Nat upside the head and I hope the MacKilligan sisters manage to overcome the years of being babied and spoiled because she's going to need it. There will certainly need to be a few more to tease out the mystery the Malone brothers have been seeking - of who killed their father.

And with Kyle reappearing in the same book as Nat, and keeping in mind that several of the other young shifters are likely to be coming of age in books to come, there's certainly fodder for many more years of hilarity. One can but hope.

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Alien Hunters by Daniel Arenson

Alien Hunters by Daniel Arenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh Captain, my captain

What a riot this book turned out to be. Much more fun than I expected. And yes, very much a nod to various fandoms, particularly Firefly - there are plenty of easter eggs to satisfy the most ardent fan, without letting the nods take over the story.

Quirky, weird crew, reminiscent of Firefly and the Wayfarer? Check. The Dragon Huntress is certainly a home, like Serenity, with nods to the best ship in the 'verse in her design. And let's not forget the sky references to LotR, Princess Bride, Star Trek, and others.

Riff can be a bit annoying, but thankfully the story isn't always told from his point of view. Yes, it's more a novella than a novel, but entertaining despite its length.

Is it going to win awards? No. Is it going to choke you up, make you worry about the crew, entertain you with quips and space battles and David vs Goliath scenes, make you chuckle and grin? Indeed.

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Review: Fortune's Pawn

Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the type that's right up my alley. It's full of action, includes psychic abilities, has creatures, thrills and mysteries... and battles. Space battles, in this case. It's a formula I tend to love.

I love kick-ass heroines. I adore bad-asses. Not to mention warriors and freaking fantastic armour (the Lady Grey was a character herself, in my head).

My suit was the color of morning mist, a light, silvery gray chased through with a spiraling pattern that was only visible in direct light. It was a speed suit, built for strength and flexibility, but the money I’d spent really showed in the suit’s size. Usually, size is a good indicator of the strength potential for a suit of powered armor, but not always.
...
Even I’d been a little skeptical when the Master Armorsmith first showed me her power ratings, but my worries had died the first time I’d put the Lady on. Over the two and a half years we’d been together, my suit had jumped me hundreds of feet onto escaping thruster ships and punched armored combat marines through bulkheads without pushing into the red.
She might look like a light racing suit, but my Lady was ruthless to those who underestimated her, or me, and I’ve never regretted a cent of the fortune I’d paid for her.

I read about the Lady Grey and I think of a combination of these:

Aside from the Lady Grey, Devi loves her weapons so much that she names them. Mia the plasma shotgun, Sasha the armour-piercing pistol, Phoebe and Elsie the thermite blades. I can get behind that.

I have a habit of recording and rewatching just the action scenes from movies and TV series because I love them so much. When it comes to the action scenes in this book, Rachel Bach delivers in spades. She says Devi was partially inspired by Ellen Ripley from Aliens and Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender, among others, while the armour and the Paradoxians were influenced by Warhammer 40K. The action scenes certainly reminded me of a mix of Aliens, Edge of Tomorrow, Alita: Battle Angel, Mad Max: Fury Road and even some Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Very few authors can actually craft action scenes that literally make me feel like I'm watching a movie. Right from the very first one.

I was in the air before he finished. The Lady Gray couldn’t fly, but she could jump so high and fast it didn’t matter. I shot up until I was eye level with the cargo bay lights and then dropped, flipping in midair to land hard with both feet on Cotter’s broad shoulders. I’d angled to land right on the weight balancer that kept his tank of a suit upright, and my impact sent him tilting with a strangled gasp. It only knocked him for a moment, but a moment was all I needed.

I reached down and popped the hidden safety that’s always in the same place on assembly-line suits, yanking up his face shield with one hand while my other dove to grab his now-bared throat. It was a move that would never have worked on small armor like mine, but then people who wore reasonably sized suits rarely needed this sort of discipline. The moment I touched him, Cotter froze. Snapping his neck would be nothing to my armor-powered hand, and he knew it.



It took me a while to warm up to Devi Morris; she tries hard to be a stone-cold bitch but sometimes she's just an arrogant asshole. She has nothing to apologise for when it comes to being an incredible warrior, though.

"I was born a bossy bitch, so you can either roll with it or get rolled over."

Then there's the Glorious Fool and her crew. Basil, the aeon (Big Bird with an attitude); Hyruk, the giant reptilian ship's doctor; Nova, the navigator (Luna Lovegood and Kaylee rolled into one); Mabel, the ship's engineer; Caldswell, the captain; and of course Rupert, the cook, who's Devi's love interest.

I'll be honest, the romance wasn't my favourite part of the book, but it made for an important part of the plot development (though thankfully, not the focus). It drove a large part of Devi's motivations, for better or worse, and while I thought she made some foolish decisions because of it, they mostly made sense in the context of the story.

I could have happily read the entire book as a pure action-fest, and there's more than enough to satisfy an action junkie like me. Honestly, this would make a fantastic movie (trilogy, given the other books in the set). But there's so much more, especially the interplay of the various species and the world-building, the hyper-jumps and the plasmex (a type of energy - like the Force, it's present in everything) and of course, the relationships between characters. Also snark. So much snark.

“If it makes you feel better, though, Basil is the first on my list if we’re ever stranded in deep space and forced to eat one another. Aeons are most delicious.”

TL;DR: It's probably considered light reading, but I don't care. It's comfort reading with thrills and action galore and I stan.

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Hot and Badgered (Honey Badger Chronicles, #1)

Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Can we talk about how much I love Shelly Laurenston's characters? I love them. I love the way she writes them. I love the snark and the sass and the don't-give-a-shit attitudes and the love (sometimes grudging) and the way these shifter relationships just make sense. And I say this as someone who isn't the biggest fan of shifter novels.

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books said it best in a review from 2016: "Among my favorite things about Laurenston’s writing is how very affirming and inspiring and a whole lot of fun it is, because angry, fearless women make room for themselves, they get shit done, and they’re the heroines. More honey badgers, please."

Again, I'm not a fan of most shifter stories. Werewolf romances leave me cold, for the most part (werewolf movies, eh). These worlds that Laurenston's built, though ... the fact that there aren't just wolves, that life isn't just about turning into a werewolf or hunting vampires and zombies, but about the lives those characters inhabit, well, that's my jam. Add a huge dose of snark and buttloads of action (fairly gory action, I might add), and I'm hooked. I hope I'm like Charlie in one of the other dimensions where another me is living. Possibly with Max's knife skills and lack of morals.

As for Stevie's mental issues, I adored the way they were handled. They just ... were. And yes, they needed to be handled and she needed to be on her meds and she freaks out A LOT but it's SO REAL and I know there are people who act that way and it doesn't make them crazy, just different. These characters act the way I imagine shifters really WOULD be acting in real life - not just Creature Of The Week.

And then there are the Dunn triplets ... I kept going back to reread their interactions because sibling squabbling has me laughing out loud and these - and the MacKilligan sisters - definitely caused more than one gleeful snort and a quick drag of the highlight key.

As for the deadbeat (a tame word in this case) dad, and the extended family - which doesn't consider the MacKilligan sisters to be family because they're hybrid, aka mixed breed ... seeing so many of them put in their place caused so much schadenfreude it's a little embarrassing. Still, I can tell there's a buttload more trouble on the way, and I am HERE FOR IT.

I really liked that the romance was a slow burn and so this read more like an action novel than anything else (so don't get it if you think this is more like normal shifter romances, I guarantee you it's not).

Plus, the dog, and his insolence, and basically cock-blocking the romance, what a little (giant) sod. Laurenston and her dogs.

This book made me SO HAPPY. And that's really what I want in what feels like the end times.

Aside from The Call of Crows series and the Dragon Kin (written as G.A. Aiken), the Honey Badger series looks set to shoot to the top of my favourites, the books I need to read when the world around me is sucktastic as hell. I'd say we need a TV series so I can enjoy that while rereading for the umpteenth time.

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A Tale of Two Kingdoms by Victoria Danann

 

A Tale of Two Kingdoms by Victoria Danann
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not a bad inclusion, although less about the action and more about the romance and politics. Duff and Aelsong are star-crossed lovers and I enjoyed them from the start. I just wish the book had focused more on them. To my mind, they ended up being relegated to another dimension and the focus then became all about Ram, Elora and their families than the two protagonists. Still, well-written and engaging, and once again, seeing the entire "family" in action was great. Missing Kay, though.

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Gathering Storm by Victoria Danann

 

Gathering Storm by Victoria Danann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very good addition to the series. Storm is missing in the Passes between dimensions, and when they "find" him, it's not the Storm they all know and love. Meanwhile, the real Storm is off somewhere trying to stay alive and figure out how to get back to his world. His daughter is growing up fast - like, really fast - aging years in days. So he's missing out. And the other Storm is starting to change his mind about being an asshole.

Then there's the attack on the unit, which was a highlight of the book, what with battles and teenage warriors and Elora being wounded and trying to get everyone back in time to help.

Edge-of-my-seat!

---

Coming back to this again - I feel like this has become my favourite of the series. Angel Storm might not be the greatest person - in fact, he's very much a jerk - but the Knights of Black Swan do their best to whip him into shape.

Once again, Glen is the standout character, and the Rosie storyline is a lot of fun. Engel Storm's sojourn into Angel's world introduces us to some new elements of one of our favourite Knights. As for the attack on the unit, the trainees outdid themselves and many a time I found myself with a lump in my throat, heart beating wildly, as I worried about one or more of them. Talk about action blended with humour and pathos - this is where Victoria Danann really comes into her own.

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Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf by Victoria Danann

 

Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf by Victoria Danann
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wasn't as enamoured of the werewolf as many reviewers, but I quite enjoyed this book, following the Order of the Black Swan and delving deeper into the lives of some of the characters who were introduced in bit parts earlier in the series. I could wish that not everyone was so perfect and beautiful and strong/super-powered, but hey, this is a book about paranormal people and occurrences, so take what you will from that. Nice to get back to the unit and have the family close by again, with Litha's ability to make travel just that bit easier.

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A Summoner's Tale: The Vampire's Confessor by Victoria Danann

 

A Summoner's Tale: The Vampire's Confessor by Victoria Danann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This series gets better and better. This time it's the turn of the vampire, Baka, although it's not so much about his potential romance as his past life. And of course, Elora Laiken makes a big appearance. The characterisation is unfolding well, and I'm enjoying being part of this "family" of friends.

---

Several years later, and I'm back to this series and enjoying it again. One of the best things about this series is that while each book has its own couple, they're not the main focus. which is good, because the Baka-Heaven storyline is not exactly my favourite; to be perfectly honest, older me finds Heaven not just prissy but fairly manipulative. And as for the sex scenes ... well, I'm just not seeing the attraction. I did enjoy being drawn into Baka's past, as much as I disliked the person he was - superb writing all around as far as that's concerned.

That said, this is one of my favourites because of the Elora storyline. Glen also has some excellent scenes that actually had me going back to reread it several times. The action scenes, the emotion between the characters, the concern they all show for each other - the writing is spot-on when it comes to these elements. And let's not forget the good boy that is Blackie.

All in all, this is very much an ensemble-driven series that, like the best of them, has characters you care about passionately, worry about, laugh with and yes, even mourn alongside.

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The Witch's Dream by Victoria Danann

 

The Witch's Dream by Victoria Danann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I quite enjoyed this one, and Storm is fast becoming a favourite character. It was good to see the relationship between the family of characters growing. That's what's always caught my interest - making family out of the people around you. That's very evident in this book, and the romance is not icky, which is great. Storm can be a bit of a baby, but Litha isn't taking any of his guff, and I like that. She might not be super-strong, but she can play with the big boys without fear. And her dad's a bit of a hoot.

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How to Drive a Dragon Crazy by G.A. Aiken

 

How to Drive a Dragon Crazy by G.A. Aiken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cadwaldr, meet Nolwenn

I started out thinking the story of Izzy and her blue-haired dragon obsession might be a little standard, but would still be fun. Definitely not standard; definitely fun.

The tales of the Cadwaldrs, the royals - dragon and human - the intrigue, the battles, the magic, the twists and turns, make this one of my absolute favourite series. The snark, the warmth, the humour, are bonuses - G.A. Aiken/Shelly Laurenston can write dialogue like few others. Her action scenes are like watching a fight on screen - raw power, fluid movement, step-by-step without dragging, detailed enough to build a picture while adding enough adrenaline to make one's heart race and muscles tense in sync with the pace of the scene.

Izzy has always been one of my favourites - warrior women always are - and so has Èibhear, aside from a few bratty episodes in the last book (Keita and Ragnar's story). Like all the books in this series, however, while there is a wooing, the stories of others - of the family - come into play throughout. Yes, Izzy and Èibhear are the focus, but the Cadwaldrs, the royal grandchildren, the dragon siblings and their human - and dragon - mates, and sundry other groups continue their lives alongside. It's all building and even though each book has its own climax, there's a bigger plot afoot (of course).

I do wish there was book telling the tale of the battles mentioned at the end of Keita's story, particularly since many outcomes are mentioned in this book. Perhaps it's tied up in the story of a non-Southlands dragon? Perhaps part of Rhona's story? How to Drive a Dragon Crazy is set 10 years after The Dragon Who Loved Me, and a fair amount has happened in that time.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Mí-Runach, Izzy's family, and, of course, Macsen. Particularly his interactions with Éibhear. The Cadwaldr brothers were far more annoying toward Éibhear in this book, though I enjoyed the outcomes, on the whole - especially since one of my favourite scenes early in the books was Éibhear not understanding why he kept getting hit in the head by his brothers.

I've been reading in published order but now have to go back and read in chronological order and see whether that gives time to continue the story or if I should move to another series - perhaps Aiken's series wtitten under Shelly Laurenston. They're equally good, and good for people like me, who prefer characterisation and character interaction over plot (though plot there is), with lots of humour, action, exaggeration and a hefty dose of optimism and emotion thrown in. Oh, and sex. Hot, fun sex. And profanity. Don't forget the profanity.

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Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken

 

Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good start to one of my favourite series. This might not be my absolute favourite book, but it contains one of my favourite characters, and that's Annwyl. I am ALL ABOUT the bloodthirsty berserker with a love for books. Feargus is pretty cool - dragon and human - but Annwyl's where it's at. Éibhear is the sweetest, Gwenvael is raunchily funny though a touch annoying, and as for Briec - well, he shouldn't have gotten in her way.

What makes this book is the snark. Oh, so much snark! The sex is hot, the battles are fierce, but that snark! I kept getting odd looks on the train because I was grinning like a fool at the sniping and banter. More, please!

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The Undoing by Shelly Laurenston

 

The Undoing by Shelly Laurenston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Honestly, I'm about to start rereading this one because it's become one of my absolute favourite books in the past 24 hours. I met Jace and Ski (Danski) in the last book and was wondering when I'd get to read their story. I mean, it was kind of obvious in the first book with the puppy and the berserker rage and the love of books.

This one is my favourite of all Laurenston's books (so far) because of the books, the pup, the playfulness and seriousness and mythology and the Protectors acting just the way I would expect a clan of librarians and introverts to be. In fact, the explanation of introversion vs shyness made so much sense! Liking people, but not small talk; being comfortable with long silences; needing to recharge after too much time around people and people-noise; it's so familiar. Couple that with a heroine who goes into berserker rages and, well, what's not to love?

The party planning made me chuckle, but Bear in the library with the pup, and his growing liking for the little beastie, well, that just warmed my cold heart. The sex was also really good in this book; so much laughter and warmth and not just porn. Something I've come to expect from Laurenston/Aiken. No wonder I'm smitten with her writing.

Now, who's next? I have some ideas. Especially about the cult.

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The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston

 

The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So good. So much FUN. So much gore, and battle, and fighting as enemies become friends and then family. This reworking and modernising of Nordic mythology (while retaining the old gods) is really just right up my alley. Lots of hot, really fun, sex, too. Add the pit bull, the former Marine and her damn clipboard, pointed little nuggets about how veterans are treated in the US, in-fighting between clans, Hollywood and animals with minds of their own (the Valkyrie stable scene had me laughing out loud) and - most importantly - an author who can write snark like her life depended on it, and you have a winner.

Brodie Hawaii's story really had me choking up - yes, she's a dog, so what? As for the Crows and the Ravens, not to mention the Protectors and the Giant Killers... Oh, so much to enjoy.

Again - give it a miss if you hate bad language. The Crows won't miss you.

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The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston

 

The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun. So much fun. It's not epic and deep by any means, in fact, it's pretty shallow - but it's feel-good, and that's what I need right now. The sex gets a bit much, but honestly, when sex is also fun, that's even hotter than standard erotica. Who needs all that oh-so-serious strong hero crap? Not this reader. I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between the shifter families and clans, and of course the lion shifter hero and his don't-give-a-shit heroine, or the lion shifter and his wolf shifter lady love. Plus, dogs! And lots (AND LOTS) of condoms.

I haven't given it 5 stars because these aren't necessarily my favourite books on their own - but there are other Laurenston/Aiken books that get the full treatment from me, just because they actually made me short out loud and gleefully highlight passages (particularly insults).

P.S. If bad language shocks you, you may want to give this author's work a miss. You know, so the rest of us don't have to deal with reviews based solely on the bad language being off-putting.

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Incomplete by Ann Anderson

Incomplete by Ann Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What a great romp through a few days in the life of a teenager nearing the end of her high school days. Not that it's anything you'd expect, apart from the Mean Girls clique. Lauren is a bit of a nerd, quite an outcast, and the focus of mean behaviour from her nemesis. At first I wasn't 100% sure about whether or not I'd enjoy this, as I'm way past the teen angst stage. Then the surprises started. A demonic pyramid scheme, the sale of part of her soul, a clever monkey (literally). Full of twists and surprises, Incomplete is engaging and fun, while not shying away from serious topics such as domestic abuse. The writing is also a pleasure - correct grammar and spelling makes a huge difference and Ann Anderson is spot-on with her metaphors and descriptive passages. As for the characters, I went through several stages of hating some, laughing at others, pitying a few, and ending up surprised and pleased by the satisfying ending. A sequel would be great, but all in all, Incomplete is a perfect stand-alone novel.

Disclaimer: I received a free advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.



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Opal Cowan Trilogy 3 Books Collection Set by Maria V. Snyder

Opal Cowan Trilogy 3 Books Collection Set by Maria V. Snyder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


At first I was inclined to dismiss the Glass series as just another YA fantasy collection. But it's more than that. Simple and yet evocative, beautifully written, with engaging characters, difficult situations, and a great sense of humour, this is a series to which I'm sure I will return in years to come.

Initially I thought Opal would be one of those flighty, breathless, overly romantic heroines. But she turned out to be strong - physically as well as mentally - and conflicted, more than just a shallow figurehead. She gets herself into trouble, but somehow finds her way out, either the good way, with the help of her friends, or else in a way that costs her more than the reader expects. There were times I couldn't believe the unfairness of what was happening to her. But it all led up to a gripping tale that I couldn't put down.

Don't get me wrong - I wasn't completely convinced by all her decisions and there were times - especially at the end - when I completely disagreed with what she was doing. Still, that was the point, I think - that she didn't always do the expected. That she didn't conform. And that she had to learn to rebel.

All in all, a worthwhile read.



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Spread the word - Part 2

Following on yesterday's post, a bit of background:

It was a bit weird having the photos taken and trying to get the info across to Elizabeth Sejeke, who wrote the piece. There was so much left out. So here's what I said to her before the publication:

"I waited 12 years to get my first tattoo, because I was never satisfied with the imagery I found and couldn't see it on myself for the rest of my life. I'm glad I waited, because now there are so many different styles that are more suitable for what I have in mind for my art.

I got my first tattoo for my 39th birthday, when I was on holiday in Umhlanga. I went to Electric Eye Tattoo in Gateway Mall with a picture of the Grim Squeaker from Terry Pratchett's Discworld. I love the Squeaker, this little Death of Rats, and I found the perfect picture - I'm so besotted with it that I made sure the original artist's signature (Hanie Mohd) was added to the tattoo. Abigail, who did my tattoo, was friendly, accommodating and informative, and really put me at ease during the session.

Most of the rest of my tattoos were done by Ryan "Busta" Boltoon of The Golden Tiki. He started with my sci-fi back piece, which is about a third finished. It will eventually be a collage of my favourite spaceships and space travel devices. These are from some of my favourite series and movies, and all of them represent the family that you make yourself. The saying is not actually "blood is thicker than water" - it's "The blood of the sword is thicker than the water of the womb", and means that your brothers and sisters in war can sometimes form stronger bonds than those with whom you share genes. I love my family, but there are things only your best friends can understand. 

My spaceships are also about the joy of exploration - since I will never be an astronaut, I have these on my skin to remind myself that there is joy and wonder to be found in exploring space and nature, even vicariously.

The Grim Squeaker on my left ankle is joined by The Librarian - also from Discworld - on my right. I love books, I love magic and fantasy, and Terry Pratchett's wizardly orangutan just nails the frustration of being interrupted while reading. 

Busta also tattooed my Krakenlet on my left shoulder and happy spider on my right. These represent my husband and myself - he's the spider, I'm the octopus. We think of these as our spirit animals, and I had them done in a style that's cute and colourful and makes me smile when I look in the mirror. 

Finally, I have another spaceship on my left wrist, tattooed by Jinx of Fallen Heroes, who has since left for Portugal. I designed the original tattoo, using my favourite quote from my favourite series, Firefly - "You can't take the sky from me". Says it all, really. 

So why do I, a 43-year-old woman working for a big corporate, have tattoos? Why do I plan on getting more? Well, I've never been particularly good-looking and I've always had self-esteem issues. But ever since the needles first bit into my skin, I've realised that I'm pretty darn fantastic. I love the way the colours and designs make me feel. I'm more confident with them on my skin, and I'm always looking for chances to show them off. Thankfully it's not an issue at my place of work, but of course they can be covered up quite easily. I have no intention of getting "job-stoppers", because I'm not in the kind of industry that would allow for those. I do admire people who have beautiful tattoos on their hands or neck, but they're not for me. 

I have very specific ideas about the kind of tattoos I want, and as I'm not much into flowers, skulls, birds or butterflies, I'll stick to the things that bring me pleasure. I want swathes of colour and cheer across my skin, so I'm glad that I only got into it much later than my young self wanted. I'm glad I never found that elusive "perfect" wolf picture, because I'd never have had my spaceships if I'd gone with that. It would have been a loss. 

As for what my family says, my mother was shocked at first, but she has grown to like them. I think she'd be more against them if they were skulls or demonic, but she sees how much joy I take in them, and she has never criticised them to me. Not that it matters; the only person whose opinion is important to me in this regard is my husband, and even he would never dream of telling me what to do with my own body. He's quite chuffed to be married to "that tattooed chick", in any event. All he asks is that I don't tattoo my face, neck or hands, or have anything gross or freaky, and I'm perfectly satisfied with that. 

I hope to encourage young people - specifically, young women - that tattoos are not scary or a sign of a bad upbringing. They're an art. And as they're on you for life, respect yourself and the art, and think before you get that first one. Don't just go for the first bit of flash you see just because you feel pressured. Take the time to think about what's important to you, and I don't mean your significant other's name, or the lyrics of that song you like. Research, consult, look around, and be prepared to pay for an artist who is not only good with the tattoo machine (it's not a "tattoo gun"), but will also advise you on what will work and what won't. Listen to them. They've been doing this for years and want you to be happy with your art. It's good for business. And please, don't go for someone cheap. I promise, it's not worth it. "

My friends Lauren and Cashe got their pics taken, too. Pretty cool, no?

Spread the word

My tattoos made it into a national newspaper - today's City Press. Just a tiny piece, but aimed at breaking down the #tattoo taboo. #inkundermyskin #southafricaink
Posted by Sue-Ann Cooper on Sunday, 6 September 2015

Sci-fi/fantasy Pi Day rainbow celebration with tanks!

Want to know about our amazing, stupendous, super-awesome wedding? So do I!

Was there a theme to your wedding? What was the general gist?We love sci-fi, so it was a no-brainer for us to make that the theme of our wedding. And because we love Pi, too, the date of official Pi Day (3.14.15) was serendipitous!

We asked our guests to dress in sci-fi/fantasy/steampunk/comic gear, and prepare themselves for something not quite run-of-the-mill. It worked out just as we envisaged - about half our guests came in costume, including Kratos, God of War, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Alice and the Mad Hatter.

Stargate, Firefly and Robotech played a huge role in all our designs and planning and informed the type of venues we chose. We’re also weapon lovers, so right from the start we knew we wanted to have the ceremony and photographs at the SA Museum of Military History, surrounded by tanks and big guns.

We used rainbow colours to signify our belief in marriage equality, and my sister and parents, who flew up from Cape Town, made rainbow ribbon wands and table runners.

Michael's favourite sci-fi is Babylon 5, so we had Sin Bin make him an Army of Light uniform. I wanted a corset to show off my tattoos, and had always wanted one from Arwen Garmentry. She made me an orange halter-neck with a Serenity spaceship hand-painted in gold, while Sin Bin also made my (brown) skirts (out of curtain material), along with my utility belt - I wanted to be a Browncoat somehow!We also designed our own rings - mine is Stargate and his is Robotech - so we started the sci-fi way before the wedding!Unfortunately we couldn’t get married in front of the mighty G6, but we still had tanks and guns surrounding us. We’d decided that we wanted someone we knew and loved to be our officiant, so to overcome the legalities we had a civil ceremony in the morning (which worked out perfectly as we were officially married at 9:26:53 like Pi Day bosses!). My ex-husband was our henchman and his wife had herself ordained as a Jedi Knight to perform our “real” ceremony. She brought a light-saber in lieu of a wand to perform an Unbreakable Vow!We made sure to do our our photos before the ceremony, which allowed us to greet guests as they arrived, calming our nerves and giving the sensation of a wave of joy as we entered, instead of the nerves a sea of faces would have created.

We had our henchparty walk in to the theme music from Angel, and then we walked in together to the Stargate SG-1 theme and walked out to Robotech.

As we are atheists and were adamant that we wanted no religion, we wrote our entire ceremony and vows, incorporating Klingon vows, the tale of how we met, and as many sci-fi and fantasy references as we could manage! Because Michael was afraid he'd break down if he read his own vows, we had Lauren read them out so that we responded individually or together. A big part of the vows was about how we were making our own family, like the characters on our favourite sci-fi fandoms. 

We got a laugh from the crowd when Michael started off by promising to stick around so he could see how my tattoos looked as I aged, and I promised to help him in his plans of world domination. 

Initially we were going to do a volcano unity ceremony, but in the end we settled for kitchen science and mixed clear vinegar water with purple red cabbage water, which mixed to form a bright red.

Instead of a first kiss, we fist-bumped, which is much more our style!

If you had a reception, what was it like?We held our reception at a sports bar, because the Military Museum wouldn’t allow us to play music after hours (since they’re right next to the zoo). Our wedding planner, my sister and my best friend went all out setting up and making sure everything was perfect - to be honest we had only the vaguest idea of how everything would look so it was a pleasant surprise to walk in to a beautiful set-up that evening.  

My mom and aunt sewed the table runners - my sister bought the fabric in Cape Town based on my requirements of rainbow colours and “something spacey”; I didn’t even see it before it arrived. We originally planned on having 3D-printed spaceships at each table - as the tables were named after our favourite fandoms - but the printer broke down exactly four weeks to the day and we had to scramble for something else. In the end, Michael suggested that we set up photo frames, so the last week was spent printing A4 images and having frames cut from wood, adding glass, and spray-painting them black. We decided to let people take those home and added a photo booth so they could also take home pics of themselves and have a second strip to put into the guest book.As it was Pi Day, it made sense to have pies as part of the meal. Since I'm allergic to wheat, we had wheat-free pies made from coconut flour with our favourite fruit and chocolate fillings, and Pi cutouts. We had a spitbraai (BBQ) for the main meal, and the caterer even provided for our vegan guests and made sure everything was Halaal so our Muslim friends could enjoy it too. 

Oh, and you know how food is often the most talked-about aspect of a wedding, and people complain about how they had to wait too long? Because we did our photos early, no one had to wait, we ate at a reasonable hour, and we provided takeaway boxes for everyone to help us finish off the food, since we abhor waste.

We walked in to the metal version of the Pacific Rim theme, and had nerdy music playing during dinner, while we provided sci-fi movies for the TV screens at the venue.

My sister read Scientific Romance by Tim Pratt as her speech, and I did the only other speech, as we wanted to keep these to a minimum. Our first dance was to the theme song from Firefly, and then everyone came together on the dance floor, where our mothers danced their hearts out!

We had a photo booth with lots of sci-fi and fantasy props, and our guests got to stick the photo strips in our guest book (which Lauren had made by hand) and take home a set for fridge magnets.

What was the most important lesson you learned?
Things happen when least expected, and it's easier to just accept it and move along. At the same time, when you make plans, try to envisage all possibilities and eventualities. We made lists of the type of photos we liked, and passed these on to our photographers. But in the excitement of doing our photos, we completely forgot to have our henchparty with us, so we don’t have any decent pics of them in our professional shots. It also took months to get our venue(s) - we'd wanted to do everything at the Military Museum, but they wouldn't let us play music at the reception, so we had to find an alternative.

Our wedding planner was worth her weight in gold on the day of the wedding. There is no way we would have been able to set up while having a civil ceremony and getting ready before rushing through for photos.

The main thing I found was to trust the people who'd offered to help - they were outstanding. We couldn't have achieved what we did without them.

It was also important to have Michael help me in the planning. I mistakenly said in my speech that it was his idea to do the sci-fi, but it was actually mine, and his support and encouragement made it possible and helped us craft a wedding that was true to us and what we love.

Photographer: Perfect Photographic  http://www.perfectps.co.za/
Corset: Arwen Garmentry https://www.facebook.com/ArwenGarmentry
Skirts, utility belt and Army of Light uniform: Sin Bin http://www.sin-bin.co.za/
Rings: Chris Winspear Jewellery http://www.chriswinspear.co.za/
Wedding planner: Stacy of A Bowtique Touch http://www.abowtiquetouch.co.za/
Pies: Thirteen13 Events https://www.facebook.com/thirteen13events
Caterer: Spitbraai Masters www.spitbraaimasters.co.za
Venue (ceremony): South African Museum of Military History http://www.ditsong.org.za/militaryhistory.htm
Venue (reception): Pirates Sports Club http://piratesclub.co.za/
Photo Booth: Funky Photo Booth www.funkyphotobooth.co.za
Music: Cream Cheese Professional Discos http://www.creamcheese.co.za

Check out the pics and ceremony wording at our wedsite, www.wormholewedding.com!

My Familiar Stranger by Victoria Danann

 

My Familiar Stranger by Victoria Danann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't quite sure about liking this book. Elora Laiken travelling to another dimension was cool, and I love me some warriors. But this seemed to be a more typical romantic triangle. Well, at least until the action started, and it turned out that Elora was more than able to hold her own against the big guys of Black Swan. There's potential, and I'm enjoying the interaction between the characters. So we'll see.

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I first read this book set back in 2014, and decided to revisit it as part of my quarantine comfort-reading foray. That turned out to be a very good idea.

While I was non-committal in my initial review and first reading, unlike most other books I read in the intervening time, I had flashes of this series come back to me without me having looked at the pages again. That makes it part of my comfort list - not least because every flash of memory was accompanied by a tiny twinge of happiness.

This is quite the combo of urban fantasy (yes, there are vampire and werewolves), sci-fi (inter-dimensional travel), paranormal (that comes later in the series, so I won't add spoilers, but there's definitely magic involved) and butt-loads of action (not just from the alpha males, either). There are berserkers, elves (and their hated enemies, the fae) and, of course, humans, in a world that's familiar but also just different enough from our own to be somewhat off for our heroine, Elora Laiken, who's thrust into a device best described as a cross between a tumbledryer and an iron maiden, crossing dimensions before arriving in our world as a battered, barely human mess.

Speaking of alpha males, I'm not generally a fan, and it took me a while to warm up to the lot in this bunch, but I'm a sucker for teams, loyalty, and people who make each other into families, so once again, I fell hard. I'm also grateful that while there are sex scenes, they're not integral to the story (and the love triangle - or quadrangle? - is kinda important for the way the rest of the series plays out, so I got over my distaste for that particular trope).

The whole storyline with Blackie the dog is outright wonderful (also the way one world calls his breed an Alsation while the other calls him a German Shepherd).

The writing is stellar and the action scenes are excellently written, but for my money it's the quips between the characters that make this a series I'll read over and over again.

View all my reviews