Tom Mock

Undine’s Blessing – Hear My Call – Between The Lines – Breaker Of Fates
I wanted to see more from 3 distinct novels today, all that seem like they would be accessible to younger readers as well as adults. A comfort read, a paranormal romp, and a YA page-turning adventure. Check them out!

(from Before We Go Blog)

118. Tessa Hastjarjanto, Undine’s Blessing

And, because this is fantasy, I’m waiting for the turn. So far everything seems perfectly ordinary, if set in another place and time. The focus is on the relationship of the characters and their feelings. The scope of the world has yet to broaden.

But, as I said, I’m waiting. I know that fantasy turn is coming. The quiet start draws me in and lulls me, like the lapping waves, into a sense of safety, of normalcy, of calm. I almost feel I’m drifting in a dream as I read.

Except, there is a lingering fear of the sea here. It seems mundane enough. Our MCs mother is worried about her being snatched away by the current. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe…

There are many ways to invite a reader into a story. You don’t always have to grab them by the collar and start off at a run. There is a peace in these pages and in this simple, clear prose that strikes me as true. It’s like a real life. I find myself compelled to turn the pages.

There is action here. Quiet action of a life unfolding. But there’s more than that. There is an unspoken worry over a sick mother who is less than she used to be.

There is a love of living things. And a heavy-hearted sadness over the inevitability of death that is, I feel, about much more than eating fish.

I find the artfulness of this opening subtle and pleasing. I feel I could sink into the story and happily read it all the rest of the day. It’s short enough. I might even finish it. I do so wonder what is going to happen next.

I’m in.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199001923-undine-s-blessing

119) Yvette Bostic, Hear My Call

This seems like a straightforward paranormal romp, complete with fae and werewolves, a powerful young woman from a broken home whose otherwise ordinary if solitary life is one day turned inside out. Today is that day!

The prose is effective and focused primarily on its characters, which is to its credit. Chapter 1 is largely introduction with a fair amount of “here’s how I got here,” but without losing track on the life of our MC.

Though I felt some of this exposition could have been more artfully explored, it serves to give us a good jumping off point for the action that explodes at the end of the chapter, and I find, by the time the proverbial fur does start to fly, that I feel I know our MC.

She’s tough, guarded, vulnerable, works with her hands, keeps men at an arms distance, but has a sweet, surprisingly realistic relationship with her rough-around-the-edges, salt-of-the-earth step-father.

This read seems like pure, paranormal candy. I’ve only gotten a limited sense of the action, but it’s off to a thrilling start once it kicks into gear. I have a feeling our MC is going to be plunged headlong into a world she little understands. This is good fun. I’m in.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56616845-hear-my-call

120) D Hale Rambo, Between The Lines

I found this youthful fantasy to be charmingly creative with its conceit. Stepping between worlds is familiar enough, but the literary parallel of the language was a delight to me, and the narration clearly relishes sharing those delights with its reader.

The 3rd person voice of the novel is equally charming. There is a humorous energy about it, tho I don’t believe the story is a comedy. Our female MC is plucky, a little reckless, and driven to investigate mysteries.

The prose is clear. The action starts straight away, but without seeming in a rush, giving us a good sense of our main character as the story unfolds. We’re with her! And the image of helpless little fire elementals is a nice, Ghibli-esque touch.

While the setting, beyond being a city, is for the moment undefined, no beginning can be all things at once. This is more interested in its story-involved organizations. The Who and the What for the moment trumps the Where.

I was confused by some minor plot details, but I’m not sure that’s the sort of thing I need to be overly concerned with in an adventure story like this.

How some group knew where to meet our MC and why she made a complicated back up plan are less important to me than to learn what happens next! Because something is happening here!

There’s bad people in this world, and they up to no good. Oh, did I mention the anthro cat people? And a non-white MC?

This opening has a lot to offer readers. It feels full of possibility, and I can little guess just where it will take me. I think this would be a treat especially for younger readers. Great fun! I’m in.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61373816-between-the-lines

121) Vaela Denarr, Micah Iannandrea, Breaker Of Fates

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