Teaser Tuesdays - Where Silence Gathers

These aren't coincidences. Someone is watching me.
Someone knows.

(page 84, Where Silence Gathers by Kelsey Sutton)


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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Borrowed Souls - Why I DNFed

Borrowed Souls (Soul Charmer #1)
by Chelsea Mueller

What is it about:
Callie Delgado always puts family first, and unfortunately her brother knows it. She’s emptied her savings, lost work, and spilled countless tears trying to keep him out of trouble, but now he’s in deeper than ever, and his debt is on Callie’s head. She’s given a choice: do some dirty work for the mob, or have her brother returned to her in tiny pieces.

Renting souls is big business for the religious population of Gem City. Those looking to take part in immoral—or even illegal—activity can borrow someone else’s soul, for a price, and sin without consequence.

To save her brother, Callie needs a borrowed soul, but she doesn’t have anywhere near the money to pay for it. The slimy Soul Charmer is willing to barter, but accepting his offer will force Callie into a dangerous world of magic she isn’t ready for.

With the help of the guarded but undeniably attractive Derek—whose allegiance to the Charmer wavers as his connection to Callie grows—she’ll have to walk a tight line, avoid pissing off the bad guys, all while struggling to determine what her loyalty to her family’s really worth.

What did I think of it:
I DNFed (Did Not Finish) this book at 25%.

I will confess I was a bit reluctant to do so, because I was enjoying the worldbuilding. The story certainly had possibilities as well, and I liked Derek.

But... I hated Callie!

Callie is narrow minded and prejudiced. I tried to ignore this, but every time I was just getting back into the story she would think something again that made me angry at her. Added annoyance: She's blind to clues as big as jumbo jets as well.

So at 25% I asked myself: Will Callie maybe change? Can I stand Callie until the end of this book if she doesn't? The answer to those questions was that I didn't see a big change coming soon enough for me to stick with the story to see it happen.

Why should you read it:
The Setting and story are both very interesting.


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Wytchcraft - Book Review

Wytchcraft (Matilda Kavanagh #1)
by Shauna Granger

What is it about:
Matilda Kavanagh – Witch For Hire. No spell, charm, or potion too difficult.

Supernaturals are out of the closet, living alongside humans in a tenuous relationship. Most are just trying to live life like nothing’s changed, others would use magic for their own gain.

When Mattie creates a charm to help a half-troll catch a fairy, she sets herself up for the worst possible thing: she is now in debt to the fairy court. If she can’t find the fae prince and bring him home alive, it’ll be her head on the chopping block.

What did I think of it:
I love Granger's Ash & Ruin series, so I wanted to try out her other series as well. I really liked the first book in her Elemental series and have the rest of that series in my TBR pile. But of course instead of reading those, I picked up the first book in yet another one of her series.

And this is a very enjoyable read.

Mattie is a fun heroine, and I really liked the worldbuilding as well. Mattie managed to get herself in trouble and when she's not quick enough to agree to a deal her ex-lover is used as leverage.

I think here we have the one point in the story that didn't work for me. I wanted more connection with the ex-lover than just some flashbacks. I wasn't invested in their history together and he sounded like more trouble than he was worth. It's a good thing that Mattie's own life was in danger as well, otherwise I'd have called her a fool to go through all the trouble.

Luckily that was the one thing I didn't much like, otherwise this was a fun and action-packed story. I was hooked from the start and loved Granger's take on all the mythological creatures. There were also some cool side characters I hope to see again in future books.

All in all a cool read that makes me curious what trouble will find Mattie next. I will get my trotters on the next book for sure.

Why should you read it:
It's a very enjoyable Urban Fantasy read.


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In McPig's TBR Pile - Crescendo

I bought book 3 & 4 secondhand for just 1 Euro and 50 cents last week, so should probably dig up this book one of these days.


Crescendo (Hush, Hush #2)
by Becca Fitzpatrick

Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it. A mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever (if that's possible) and what's worse, he seems to be spending time with Nora's archenemy, Marcie Millar.

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadn't been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude, Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feelings that he is hiding something.

If that weren't enough, Nora is haunted by images of her murdered father, and comes to question whether her Nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death. Desperate to figure out what happened, she puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations to get the answer. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.


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Mass Effect: Nexus Uprising - Book Review

Mass Effect: Nexus Uprising (Mass Effect: Andromeda #1)
by Jason M. Hough and K.C. Alexander

What is it about:
They slept for hundreds of years, dreaming of a new home in the Andromeda Galaxy. When finally they awake, their dreams of peace are shattered.

These colonists—turian, salarian, asari, human, and more—face an uncharted galaxy and threats beyond understanding.The Nexus is the core from which the colonists will explore their new home. Yet even before the arks arrive, the massive space station sustains critical damage.

The entire mission is placed in jeopardy, and security director Sloane Kelly must reassert order while racing to identify the nature of the threat that faces them.If she fails, the Andromeda Initiative could crumble.

What did I think of it:
I tried one of the Mass Effect novels in the past and didn't like it very much. But after the success of the Dragon Age novels, and loving Mass Effect Andromeda more than expected I decided to give Nexus Uprising a chance. The uprising is something that is mentioned a lot in the game, so I wanted to know more about it.

And this is a cool story.

I loved learning more about the Nexus and the problems it had. I loved it even more that I got to know more about some of the characters you meet in the game. Tann, Addison, Kesh, and Sloane Kelly all play a part in this story. I really liked seeing in their heads, and to discover what events sparked the mutiny on the Nexus.

I will confess I already formed my own opinions on most of the characters and already picked a side, but it was fun to discover the truth and to see how it matched up with my own ideas about the uprising and the characters. It certainly made that I was even more sure about one of my choices in the game.

I think this book can be read without having played any of the Mass Effect games, there might be a few things you don't understand, but the overall story is easy to follow. I do think that people who played the game will get the most enjoyment out of it though, and I can recommend this book to any fan of Mass Effect.

I already pre-ordered the next book in the series, I can tell you.

Why should you read it:
It's a cool SF read.


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Teaser Tuesdays - Borrowed Souls

Nothing happened, as far as she could tell. Wasn't something supposed to? The Soul Charmer had acted like any idiot could do this, but how was she supposed to know when it worked?

(Page 40, Borrowed Souls by Chelsea Mueller)


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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mass Effect Andromeda - Game Review

Mass Effect Andromeda
developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts

What is it about:
Mass Effect: Andromeda takes you to the Andromeda galaxy, far beyond the Milky Way. There, you'll lead our fight for a new home in hostile territory - where WE are the aliens.

Play as the Pathfinder - a leader of a squad of military-trained explorers - with deep progression and customisation systems. This is the story of humanity’s next chapter, and your choices throughout the game will ultimately determine our survival in the Andromeda Galaxy.

As you unfold the mysteries of the Andromeda Galaxy and the hope for humanity lies on your shoulders – You must ask yourself… How far will you go?

What did I think of it:
I absolutely love the original Mass Effect trilogy, featuring Commander Shepard. so I was both excited for a new Mass Effect game and apprehensive.

Still the trailers and screenshots looked cool enough I pre-ordered the game so I could start playing as soon as it became available.

First let's get the biggest flaw named and out of the way: the facial animations. Yes: the humans and Asari looked weird and bug-eyed. Then luckily the patch released and they all looked a lot better. And yes: I think another patch to fix up some more bugs might be needed, but the weird eyes and faces was the biggest of them all imo.


On to the rest of the game:

What I love about Mass Effect is that you can chose between playing a male of female lead. Yes, Male Ryder is apparently the default, just as Male Shepard was the default for the trilogy, but you can at least play a female lead if you want. So I created a female Ryder. Just as in Dragon Age Inquisition (which is also a Bioware/EA creation) there's not a lot of choice when it comes to hair when giving your character shape, but I managed to create a Ryder I liked.

After an introduction with voice over by Clancy Brown you are soon trust into action: having arrived in a new galaxy your ark is in trouble and you will have to land on an unknown planet to find a safe haven. This first mission is to ease you into the game play. It both works as a tutorial and to get you into the mood of the game.
I will confess I was hooked from the start. I really liked how you can chose how to play Ryder. Ryder can react logical, professional, emotional or casual to things in a conversation. This is a great way to give Ryder more personality and to give him/her a personality you think fits with the character.


The first part of the game is pretty straight forward and you just follow the general storyline of the game. After a while the galaxy opens up, and you get more room to decide whether you want to concentrate on the main storyline or if you want to explore the Heleus cluster some more. And let me say: I love the scenery and wildlife you encounter. There are some really stunning visuals in this game.

I loved the main storyline. It's full of action, bad guys and hard decisions. It's not as dark as the original trilogy, but that's not a bad thing. I liked the hope and perseverance that showed in this story.

Of course Ryder doesn't have to head out alone. There are a total of six squadmates you can add to your team and you're accompanied by two of them on your missions. Of the six there were two I absolutely loved and took with me as much as I could, one that I really liked, two I didn't care much about, and one I really loathed. Just my luck that the loyalty mission of that last character is pretty important.


As with the earlier games it's possible to start up a romance with some of your squadmates and other interested characters. I had a clear favorite and let my Ryder fall in love. The romance I picked was adorable and sweet. I can't tell you anything about the other romances, but there are plenty of choices (although the females in this game are more interested in getting in Ryder's pants than the males. There's three male romance options for a female Ryder and four female romance options, while for male Ryder there are two male romance options and five female romance options).

There were just a few things that frustrated me. At times it was pretty unclear where you had to be. There's a marker that shows you where you have to go to complete the next step of a mission, but with flat maps while the landscape isn't flat, but multi-layered, I was lost at times. And then there's the puzzles. I'm not fond of puzzles in my role playing games. There are even sudoku's to solve! I can't thank the gaming community enough for putting the solutions of those puzzles online so quickly after release of the game. And lastly: the Nomad! The Nomad is the vehicle Ryder drives to get from one place on a planet to the other. And yes: it's mandatory to use it. I thought I hated the Mako in Mass Effect 1, but the Nomad made me think the Mako wasn't that bad.

All in all I love this game though and you can bet I will replay it and will impatiently wait for any DLCs.

Why should you play this game:
It's a really cool SF Action-RPG