THE TAINTED CUP BY ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT
A fantasy murder mystery served with a dollop of Pacific Rim, garnished with a hint of The Goblin Emperor, and a tiny sprig of romance. It was nicely written with interesting world-building and enjoyable characters; Ana, in particular, was a delight. The murder plot and its somewhat deflated resolution kept this at a 3-star rating for me. Though the opportunity is rarely afforded in fantasy whodunits, I like to follow along and solve crimes too! While it didn't guarantee a sequel a place on my to-read list, I might try more from this author. ★★★☆☆
THE DUCHESS WAR BY COURTNEY MILAN
The first novel in the Brother's Sinister series and my second Milan book. Again I found the romance much too rushed, and the male protagonist implausibly perfect. Also implausible is the notion of a peer thinking and acting as the Duke of Clermont does in this book. It just didn't work for me, I could not suspend my disbelief enough to accommodate it. Milan writes nicely and delivers escapism but I don't really enjoy her books. There simply isn't enough angst or "realistic" characters who behave credibly in them for my tastes. ★★★☆☆
THE SCANDALOUS CONFESSIONS OF LYDIA BENNET, WITCH BY MELINDA TAUB
A magical version of Lydia Bennet's story in her own words. I'm no Janeite but do enjoy reading Austen, her sparkling prose and ability to make "dull" romance/marriage plots interesting and funny is always a delight. I'm also fond of fantasy and a good retelling, but I did not enjoy "The Scandalous Confessions..." very much. The magic system was dull, the various subplots tedious, and I didn't care for the writing. I was vaguely bored throughout and didn't care about what happened to any of the characters. Original flavour for me from now on. ★★★☆☆
THE MINISTRY OF TIME BY KALIANE BRADLEY
I was excited to read this as the premise is brilliant. Sadly, I found it a bit of a dud. The story got progressively less engaging and incorporated a “twist” I found trite, and the middling resolution made the whole story weaker. No characters were particularly engaging and I found the arctic chapters and the musings of the main character more of a distraction than an enhancement. I didn't particularly care for the writing style, and also lampshading something doesn't magically make it not bad. All told, an ok read but not a book for me. ★★★☆☆
