Melissa McShaneBesprekingen

The writing in this book seems to try to encapsulate the feeling of Jane Austen's writing and it does a pretty good job at that but the plot is not at all what I expected from the writing style.
To a large degree, the book is just a female empowerment fantasy and is a bit too blunt about this in a few places. Because the MC is so capable and powerful the author struggles a bit with creating credible and tense conflict.
The pacing is almost too even imo. It's not too slow overall but it doesn't adjust to the tension of the story in some places so some things feel a bit drawn out while others move too fast.
If you enjoy writing similar to Jane Austen you will probably enjoy this too even though it is much more fantastical and has a lot more action and violence than I expected.

What a fun book! Loved the idea of having fairy tale retelling novellas but with the same main character(s) throughout! My favorite story was definitely the Little Red Riding Hood retelling and the Gingerbread Man one! Also, what a gorgeous cover!!!

This was quite an interesting book! At first I was a little reluctant to the main-character-who-is-both-a-countess-and-a-librarian idea but I actually ended up liking it! Putting the story in a medieval-ish settings but with modern inventions (called "Devices") was also a pretty neat idea. There were still horse-drawn carriages but they also had some modern stuff, apparently, like humidifiers, guns, and even folding chairs!

Just a warning that there are quite a few suggestive comments (e.g. about women's breasts (mostly the MC's), crude joking, etc.), men often ogle and leer inappropriately at women, and in one scene a man and a woman are naked waist up and kiss passionately. One character has engaged in quite a bit of premarital sex before the book started but there aren't any sex scenes at all in the book itself and the character in question paid for his actions and is meant to have redeemed himself.

Overall, a well-written book with well-developed characters and some action mixed in. Wouldn't recommend to anyone under the age of 15 though, just to be safe.

Zerafine, a priestess of Atenas, and her companion Gerrard, have been sent to the city of Portena to investigate spirits who don’t appear or behave like usual ghosts.

Initially I thought the worldbuilding could have been more effectively conveyed -- some concepts were confusingly left unexplained, and some conversations seemed too blatantly infodumpy. But I liked the characters and once I settled into the story, I enjoyed the mystery. If something else by McShane catches my attention and sounds like my sort of thing, I’d read it.

Melissa McShane’s Discerning Insight eighth installment from her The Extraordinaries series is another great book to read. It is by far my new favorite of the series. I adored Lydia’s story. She was one character that I connected with instantly. I loved how the author vividly describes the setting and the history that made me feel as though I was right there with the characters and being part of the scenes.

Discerning Insight will be getting five stars from me. Readers who enjoy reading historical fantasy will love it as much as I did. As usual, I will be looking forward for more upcoming books by Melissa McShane.

I received a paperback copy of Discerning Insight from the publisher but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

I like these stories but really don't like Helena!

Soaring Flight is the seventh installment from The Extraordinaries series by Melissa McShane. I have had the pleasure of reading the previous books in this series and was excited to have the opportunity to read the latest addition. Even though each one is part of a series, I believe they can be read as a stand alone. This one is probably my favorite of the currently seven released book. I admired Clemency right from the start. Her bravery and courage was admirable. Her story was fun, adventurous and action packed. I had to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next.

Soaring Flight will be getting five stars from me. I recommend it for readers who enjoy reading historical fiction and fantasy, as well. As always, I will be looking forward to reading more by Melissa McShane in the future.

I received a digital copy of Soaring Flight from the author but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

Okay, so the first 25% were dull, boring, and maybe even somewhat confusing. The rest was amazing. The plot was intricate and real and engaging( at least after the beginning few chapters. The writing was good.
As for the characters, well, before reading the book, I went through some reviews and most were critical and frustrated by Alison. However, somehow, I felt that I could perfectly relate to her, and she's one of the most amazing heroines I've ever read, in my opinion. Anthony, I didn't have any particular issues with him but he somehow didn't leave that big of an impression on me. Zara was so amazing, I can't wait to start her book. The Dowager, I didn't really like.
Liked the author, definitely gonna read more of her books

Nope, still don't like romance.

Fun, it grew on me as the story developed, although at times it did seem like the plot was escaping the author a bit.

Evon is a young mage working in a boring government department. He's tasked with tracking down a marauding sorcerer who appears to have the power to cast a fire hotter than anything anyone else in his country can do - it melts even stones. For the Despot who's invading to have such a weapon under his control would be the certain end of their civilisation. Following reports of activity he accidentally stumbles across a woman fleeing a burning building, and discovers it's no usual spell that has cast the fire. The girl is almost entirely involuntary and with a charming personality to boot. Enron is certain that the government wouldn't responsive to his pleas to treat her reasonably and so they flee following her geas. Enron tries to decipher the spell wrapped around her, and finds it more ancient and more complex than anything he's ever encountered. A bit of history a bit of chance and a bit of luck combine to lead them to a not at all unexpected conclusion.

Fun but didn't quite work especially the contrived ending. the magical world building was mostly clever and interesting, but authors have to be more aware of the power they're gifting their characters, and if you give god-level powers, the reader feels cheated if they don't use them to their full extent.½

A collection of re-worked fairy tales with varying levels of charm. The tales follow Chloé Spurlock from teenager to middle-age. Not a ton of world- building, but it isn't really necessary. Reading this reminded me how much I enjoy short stories (Vivian Vande Velde style) and several adaptations were wryly clever and included some nice nods to pop culture. I will also admit that I rolled my eyes at the beginning of the last chapter but ended up being pleasantly surprised. I may be a little jaded.

Okay, so the first 25% were dull, boring, and maybe even somewhat confusing. The rest was amazing. The plot was intricate and real and engaging( at least after the beginning few chapters. The writing was good.
As for the characters, well, before reading the book, I went through some reviews and most were critical and frustrated by Alison. However, somehow, I felt that I could perfectly relate to her, and she's one of the most amazing heroines I've ever read, in my opinion. Anthony, I didn't have any particular issues with him but he somehow didn't leave that big of an impression on me. Zara was so amazing, I can't wait to start her book. The Dowager, I didn't really like.
Liked the author, definitely gonna read more of her books

I loved the whole premise of this story - Ailanthe sets out on a quest but gets seemingly stuck in the castle. Instead of getting a mission, she is trapped with Coren who is too stubborn to leave on any but his own terms. I found the unfolding of their relationship very believable and while it is easy to think that the quest is a non-starter, in the end that is exactly what Ailanthe finds she has been on all along.

Reminded me a lot of Ilona Andrews' Innkeeper Chronicles series: A woman is caretaker of a magical building that serves as a neutral party in a paranormal universe. The woman finds original solutions to problems. There's a dashing and attractive man. Basically, if you liked one, you'll like the other.

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

Burning Bright presents an interesting fantastical world in which there are Talents present in a part of the population. These Talents vary wildly between different people and some are Extraordinary, having extra power over their Talent. The Talents are not just a powerful tool but provide status to whoever holds it.

The Talents were what I thought made the book interesting. Elinor's Extraordinary Scorcher Talent proves interesting when battling the Pirates in the Caribbean. Her fire-wielding powers are rather complicated even when at first it looks like they are just added to her at will. Some of the other Talents are a bit too convenient if you ask me, but I particularly liked the Bounders.

Elinor making the choice to join the navy will not be a surprise for anyone who has read the description. I struggled a little bit with it, as she bounces back and forth from being a lady, very un-Navy like to being -basically- a sailor. Also, as I often experience in this kind of books, everyone is very much in awe of Elinor and all she suggests, almost like there are no other capable characters aboard the Athena.

Nevertheless, I thought it was an amusing read, although it did drag a little bit at some points where I was almost ticking of the different things that I was sure where about to happen. Should there be another story in the same Talent world, I would pick it up.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

Last year I read Burning Bright, the first in a new fantasy series, and to say I was excitedly awaiting the second novel, Wondering Sight, would not do it justice.

I was initially disappointed that the characters from the first book didn't show up here, and also the story has moved away from catching pirates in the Caribbean to life in Britain. Sophia has another gift completely, as she as an Extraordinary Seer, can see Dreams and Visions that teach her about past and future. When she, at the start of the novel sets out to get her revenge of the man who disgraced her, it quickly turns into obsession which will not only put herself but her friends as well in danger.

I didn't like it as much as the first book. I just couldn't really get into it, and I felt the rules of the Sight were too easily bended for Sophia's convenience. Plus, I guess I missed the ships and the pirates, since a lot of the book is filled with society gatherings and parties. I guess the focus will change to another Gift in the next book, so I hope it will be something more for me...

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I’m having a hard time putting my thoughts down about this series, short of a listing of every positive adjective that I may bring to mind.
With each addition to the series, I’m drawn even deeper into this complex mixture of awe and empowerment that each novel inspires in me. The level of attention to detail that goes into this series is very evident within the work itself, but it’s even more apparent to anyone who has taken a moment to read through the Authors Notes.
I’m always very hesitant about reading historical novels of any kind because I find that if they are not handled in the right way then I struggle to enjoy the novel fully.
This could not be further from the case here. I can honestly say that not only does McShane create and incredibly immersive and believable world for the reader, but she creates one that I can honestly say I would accept as my own sooner that I would the past that it is built upon.
I am obsessed with this series and absolutely cannot wait for the fourth book, which if I recall correctly, may be arriving sometime this year!

And I haven’t even addressed how empowering the ladies of this series are! Honestly some of my favourite protagonists to date!

I cannot recommend this series enough!
The only possible faults I can even think of are
1. That there isn’t yet more to enjoy (although thankfully I have the rest of McShane’s books to read)
2. The slight awkwardness of finding yourself struggling to remember modern dialect when you’ve read all three novels back to back over the course of a week.

This has really set the standard for any books I might read this year.

I’m having a hard time putting my thoughts down about this series, short of a listing of every positive adjective that I may bring to mind.
With each addition to the series, I’m drawn even deeper into this complex mixture of awe and empowerment that each novel inspires in me. The level of attention to detail that goes into this series is very evident within the work itself, but it’s even more apparent to anyone who has taken a moment to read through the Authors Notes.
I’m always very hesitant about reading historical novels of any kind because I find that if they are not handled in the right way then I struggle to enjoy the novel fully.
This could not be further from the case here. I can honestly say that not only does McShane create and incredibly immersive and believable world for the reader, but she creates one that I can honestly say I would accept as my own sooner that I would the past that it is built upon.
I am obsessed with this series and absolutely cannot wait for the fourth book, which if I recall correctly, may be arriving sometime this year!

And I haven’t even addressed how empowering the ladies of this series are! Honestly some of my favourite protagonists to date!

I cannot recommend this series enough!
The only possible faults I can even think of are
1. That there isn’t yet more to enjoy (although thankfully I have the rest of McShane’s books to read)
2. The slight awkwardness of finding yourself struggling to remember modern dialect when you’ve read all three novels back to back over the course of a week.

This has really set the standard for any books I might read this year.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

This book. I can't. It's so bad.

So Alison is the most perfect perfect to ever perf and she's a countess and not just any countess but a fucking rich one, just rolling in money. But her dad is also a publisher (?!) somehow? It's a business? And Alison works there? Even though she's a countess? Like why?

Also Alison wears pants but then for dresses she has to wear a corset and at this point Melissa McShane is taking any kind of remote historical parallel and throwing it out the window and then pissing on the remains from said window.

BUT ANYWAYS. Alison is so ungodly beautiful it's really a curse. She never wears makeup because just because she knows she's a stunning goddess doesn't mean she's vain, of course not. But she still looks like Aphrodite and Helen of Troy spliced their DNA together because she has such flawless, dewey skin.

The villain of part 1, by the way, has acne. Because she's evil. Bad people get acne as a sign of their villainy.

(FUCK YOU ALISON AND YOUR PERFECT SKIN I HOPE YOU GET LEPROSY AND YOUR NOSE FALLS OFF)

(In totally unrelated news, I had bad acne as a teenager and to this day the skin on my face openly despises me and occasionally revolts in protest of my existence. I may have unresolved anger towards people who never had to deal with the utter shit of having pimples.)

(BUT ALSO FUCK YOU ALISON DIE IN A FIRE)

But Alison cannot stay in her publishing countess world for long because she's been summoned by the queen to be a waiting lady person for the queen's mother. This is a dull as fuck job that involves Alison wearing boring fancy clothing and going to boring fancy balls and I can't, I swear to shit I can't.

BUT THEN. Alison meets the queen's brother, Anthony, and he's royalty and therefore hot and fuckable. Also he's a gambling, drinking playboy. Anyways, he insults Alison with a rude comment and she slaps him in front of everyone and now they must hang out every week to show that they are so friendly and therefore avoid scandal.

And then Anthony the Royal Fuckboy has a complete 180 and becomes such a nice guy I started to fall asleep in parts. And just for hundreds of pages the only thing that happens is Anthony and Alison going out on dates. Like they finish a date and then "Four days later, Alison and Anthony went and did another thing together." Like nothing of import even happened in those four days. Because at this point the plot is Alison and Anthony having the most milquetoast boring romance ever and I really can't.

And then other shit happens and Alison gets to zing off a few good one-liners. And maaaaybe this book might get somewhat decent.

AND THEN PART 2 HAPPENS. Part 2 is the worst, y'all. It's the most boring piece of writing ever. There's meetings and bureaucracy and more meetings. Alison doesn't even know how her shit government works. It's all so stupid and petty and none of it makes sense and I want to slap everyone. And then push them out the window and piss on their remains.

But this isn't just lame YA, this is lame fantasy YA. And holy motherfleepers. It's bad. It's so bad. You don't even know how bad. There are these Devices that do what the plot needs them to do. Nothing is explained. And then halfway through when Alison comes down with A Serious Illness (oh my god, so Alison overhears some bad shit and immediately develops a 102 degree fever and a coughing fit. Instantly. I'm not making this up) and the doctor shows up and is like "Hai I have healing magic" and everyone nods and are completely unsurprised. Yes, there's healing magic and also other magic (?!) and no one mentions it until halfway through. And to be honest, the doctor comes back once later on but healing magic and the fact that PEOPLE HAVE MAGIC POWERS IN THIS WORLD doesn't get brought up again.

I have never seen such lazy worldbuilding. Fantasy YA isn't usually great at worldbuilding so I don't have the same standards that I do for regular fantasy novels, but this is so special.

This book is such shit. It's an embarrassment to books.

The Book of Peril by Melissa McShane is the second book in The Last Oracle series. Helena Davies is the custodian of the oracular bookstore Abernathy’s. She has been busy cleaning the shop after the attack and the shop is brighter and definitely smells better. Helena’s birthday party thrown by her best friend, Viv, is interrupted by her ex-boyfriend, Chet. He has decided he still loves Helena and is determined to win her back despite Helena’s objections (oh dear). On Monday, Helena performs an augury requests and the oracle provides the wrong prophecy. She tries it again and it works perfectly. When it starts happening more frequently, Helena needs to discover what it is transpiring. Helena needs to learn more about Abernathy’s (the manual does not have an index and it puts her to sleep) and so she visits The Athenaeum (the spiritual successor to the Library of Alexandria). When Helena continues to have difficulty with auguries, a magical team sweeps the store. They discover magical origami in Helena’s kitchen. Someone is deliberately sabotaging Abernathy’s. When Judy Rasmussen, Helena’s assistant, is arrested for the crime, Helena works to prove her innocence, find the real culprit and evade Chet.

The Book of Peril is not a standalone novel. You need to read The Book of Secrets first or you will be lost. I thought the story was well-written, to have a steady pace and engaging. I like that we are learning more about the oracle and the magical community. Melissa McShane has created a special magical world (the neutralities, the various types of magic, the oracle, sanguinis sapiens, etc.) in this series. The handsome Malcolm Campbell is back, and Helena finds herself drawn to him. However, there are those pesky rules called The Accords that might thwart their budding romance (there has to be a way around them). I appreciate the strong female characters in The Last Oracle series. Helena is slowly learning her role as custodian, and I find her smart, curious and spunky. Viv adds humor to the story and is the perfect counterpart to Helena (she is growing on me). It is wonderful to see the changes in Judy since The Book of Secrets. She is helping Helena update Abernathy’s and I like that Helena trusts her. I do want to warn readers that there is a violent scene where a female is badly injured (if these type of scenes upset you, I suggest fast forwarding past it like I did). I was not thrilled with the ending. We are left with unanswered questions and we must wait for the next book to get answers. The Book of Peril is a fast-paced paranormal novel that will have you reading late into the night to get to the end (and then you will be upset that you finished it so quickly).

Fabulous read!

Extraordonaires is an interesting series set in a Regency era where magical talent is manifest. I must admit I kept thinking about the Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses books and Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series. I really enjoyed this and am sad it took me so long to get around to it. In fact I purchased the next in the series, 'Wandering Sight', after reading 'Burning Bright.'
What more do you need? A young, talented woman, Elinor Pembroke, trodden down by an autocratic, self seeking father, a handsome captain, Pirates, treachery, Lords of the Admiralty who see not the person, or disregard the person, a couple of navy Lordlings with helicopter relatives who pave their way.
Elinor is a Scorcher (fire adept) whose talent develops late. Being suddenly treated by her father as a genetic experiment to be married off to the highest bidder (think Earl or Viscount) with another talented family in order to produce prodigies, Elinor seeks another path, The Navy. As her powers increase Elinor must learn control or suffer the consequences.
A fascinating story of self awareness and development, gender discriminations of the age, all wrapped in a tightly honed package.
Those I appreciated are the ordinary seaman she works with who come to understand and accept Elinor's efforts.

A NetGalley ARC

Burning Bright is the first book that I have read by Melissa McShane, and it will certainly not be the only or last! Love, love loved it! Loved the characters, the regency details, the fantastical aspect, the location descriptions, the exhilarating adventure, the inner conflict and growth of the heroine, the romance, and even the way interpersonal conflict is treated.

This book is so very addicting, and once it gets going, impossible to put down. Our heroine Elinor has many battles to face, and much to overcome, including her self-serving ass of a father, the prejudices of society about women, her compatriots' jealousy and disdain, ruthless enemies of England, and her own feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. Spoiler alert, she turns out to be a pretty fierce bad-ass.

As an interesting aside, most of the gifted people are in the peerage, and their lineage is jealously tracked, perhaps in an attempt to keep all of the power in the nobility. The Royal family are gifted, which is interesting as the King's madness is attributed to having an extraordinary gift of discerning how everyone around him is feeling, and being 'unable to distinguish between his own emotions and theirs.'

The balance of historical and fantastical is just perfect. Elinor and Captain Ramsey are my idea of a perfect heroine and hero.

Highly recommended, very enjoyable.


**eARC Netgalley**

What a fun beginning to a magical series!

Helena just wants a job, and the add in the newspaper for a bookstore assistant is much more promising than a position at Pick 'n Pack. To her surprise, she's hired on the spot and immediately dives in by typing labels for catalogs. When her boss is murdered on the same day, she becomes the new head of the bookstore. . .a magical bookstore. The world flip-flops as she finds herself stuck in a war between magical factions and dimensions—she didn't even know magic existed. Not only does she have to figure out how to fulfill her duties with the instruction book missing, but faces heavy scrutiny from magis, who don't want her running the store. Add deadly monsters, a constant cloud of new secrets, and a murderer who might have a target on her back, and she's in over her head.

After reading this, I only have one thing to say—I can't wait to read book two! This is a story placed in the middle of a magical war, but unlike many magical wars in literature, it's not about action and magic throwing and an insane amount of dangerous monsters. The author takes on this book with a more natural pace, one that still never runs into the realm of boring.

Helena is a very average young woman, who is easy to connect with. She isn't sure what she wants in life, has a normal family, and a very sensible head on her shoulders. She isn't a kick-butt heroine—more of a bookworm—but that doesn't mean she'll just stand there and let powerful magis push her aside. She simply follow her nose and trust anyone who doesn't spike her gut. It does come across as a little naive at times, but it also makes her human. Curiosity and a little spunk give her bite, without going over-board and ruining her slightly socially awkward, gentle character.

The world is rich, allowing the book store to come alive with it's dust, leather and onion-smell. Much of the book takes place in the store, but the various characters and situations add tons of color and life. There are moments of action and several fight scenes, which are tense and exciting, and there are other moments, where caution haunts in the background, knowing that something is about to pounce. Still, the author does a great job of easing the reader into the world and Helena, taking the time to allow the quirks and wonders to unfold and develop. By doing this, one is entrenched in the world and gains a personal connection to several of the characters, with tons of promises of the excitement still to come.

And there are a couple hints at romance as well as pauses of normal world fun, which round the book off and keep it in touch with reality and familiarity.

In other words, it's an entertaining, light read with a touch of all those great things to make a magical world glisten and shine.

I received a complimentary copy and enjoyed this book so much that I wanted to leave my honest thoughts.

The Book of Secrets by Melissa McShane is the first novel in The Last Oracle series. Helena Davies is interviewing for a job at Abernathy’s, a local disorganized bookstore. She is shocked when Nathaniel Briggs hires her and asks for her to start immediately after signing a handwritten contract. Helena is typing (on a typewriter) labels to mail out catalogues when a customer enters the store looking for Mr. Briggs. Malcolm Campbell is astonished that Helena was hired to work in the store. Helena goes searching for Mr. Briggs and discovers him dead from a stab wound in the basement. Who would want to harm Mr. Briggs? Malcolm must explain to Helena that Abernathy’s is no mere bookstore. It is a living oracle that provides prophecies. Helena, as the new custodian (she signed the contract) is tasked with finding the right book to answer the question put to the oracle by Wardens. Abernathy’s is an important tool in helping them fight the invaders in the Long War (information overload for Helena). Magic is real, and creatures invade from outside their reality to obtain it. Unfortunately, Mr. Briggs died before training Helena and the instruction book to assist her is missing. Malcolm is not the only person surprised by Helena’s appointment. Judy Rasmussen has been training for twelve years and wants Helena to abdicate (and she is quite pushy about it). Helena needs to learn her new position while fulfilling her customer’s needs, deal with Judy’s hostile attitude, discover who murdered Mr. Brigg’s before the police arrest her for the crime, and evade the deadly creatures who seem intent on attacking her (that’s not good). Despite everything that is happening, Helena believes she might have finally found her place.

The Books of Secrets is well-written and engaging. It has fast pace that will keep readers on their toes. I liked the author’s unique take on magic. I would say more but I do not want to spoil it for you. I did appreciate that the author did not dump out all the details at once. It develops throughout the story, but readers are not given everything in this first installment (we are left wanting to know more). The creature’s descriptions are enough to give a person nightmares (it did not stop me from reading though). Abernathy’s is a fascinating place. The author’s concept for the store was creative and multi-layered. Melissa McShane did a remarkable job at creating a one-of-a-kind world for her characters (and for us). I did feel that the characters needed more development and backstory. I wanted to know more about Helena’s upbringing and Malcolm’s background. I was also not a fan of Viv, Helena’s best friend. I found her annoying, overbearing, and immature. As Helena’s best friend, she is the logical choice for a sidekick. I just wish the author had tweaked her personality a bit. I am glad that The Book of Secrets is just the first book in The Last Oracle series. For a delightful story containing magic, murder, mayhem and mystery grab a copy of The Book of Secrets.

Burning Bright is a fun Regency-set fantasy in a world where people have "talents" (magical powers) and the strongest of these are known as Extraordinaries. Elinor has come to terms that she is not going to manifest a talent, when at 21 she accidentally sets her bed on fire and then puts it out. This marks her not only as a scorcher, but as an extraordinary scorcher—and a prime prize on the marriage mart in the eyes of her father. To escape an unwanted match, she volunteers her services to the Royal Navy instead and thus begins an adventure that will completely change her world.

A fun, adventurous romp across the Atlantic. We watch Elinor grow in her knowledge of her talent and herself. Plus, there are pirates. Who could say no to that? Highly recommended for fans of historical fantasy, particularly the Napoleonic Wars period.