“Can you tell how the mood is from here? How the journey went?”

 

“I won’t know how it went until I see Father’s face,” she said. “And see if he smiles or frowns?”

 

“No. And see if his smile is glad or wicked.” Her father would be smiling in any case.

That right there? That's the line that sold me, I love that take on Robin Hood—between screen and print, all you can find lately is earnest, serious, Robin Hood as populist rebel with almost all the fun sucked out of it. Vaughn's Locksley contains those elements, sure—but he's also the outlaw in search of adventure, who enjoyed what he was doing. Always smiling--it's just a matter of what kind of smile he wore.

We rejoin the Earl after the signing of the Magna Carta (which he was instrumental in getting that rascal King John to sign). He's had to do the unthinkable—bowing the knee to John after Richard's death—in order to protect his lands, his friends, and his wife. With Marian's help to contain his impulses*, he's become a responsible member of the nobility, doting father, and law abiding citizen.

* To be fair, Marian misses the adventures, too. But she's not at that stage in her life anymore.

All that other stuff? Well, he's content to leave that to the bards and storytellers. So much so that his own children aren't sure how much to believe, "Everything about Father is stories."

At least, that's what his eldest daughter, Mary, says. But after she and her siblings are kidnapped, they'll all get a better idea just what their father is capable of.

That's all I'm going to say about that. This is very much a "pilot episode" of a novella. We meet the kids—Mary, John, and Eleanor—catch up with a couple of the Merry Men, see where Robin and Marian are in their lives and so on. Vaughn balances that with the kidnapping story.

The kidnapping is a quick and almost-too-neat story solely because of the space she has to tell it. If Vaughn hadn't had to establish so much in these 112 pages, you get the feeling that the kidnapping wouldn't have been resolved quite as neatly.

My sole complaint—and it's a big one—is that this is a novella, and not a collection of novellas/short stories. I just needed more of everything—the kids, Robin, Marian, the other members of Robin's band. This is a great introduction to this world and these characters, with a little bit of drama. But having been introduced, I want to read the next one. Or, the next five or so.

But no. Tor is making me wait until August for the second one. Which is simply unfair.

While my tongue is firmly in my cheek above, there is a kernel of truth to my gripe—I'm 97% sure that this thing has legs and that I'm in for several more (even if it's currently slated to be a duology, but I'm hoping that changes), but I'm going to have to wait to really commit until August when The Heirs of Locksley is scheduled to be released. But in the meantime? This was a quick and fun read, full of promise, and one I heartily recommend.

I've been trying to get this out for over a week now (it was published last week), but I couldn't seem to be able to—I'm a little surprised I've had the energy to post anything since I started telecommuting (odd that not going anywhere tires me out more than going to work does). Finally, with apologies to the publisher for getting this post up late.
---

I've been a fan of the Kitty Norville series since the debut in 2005, and one of the supporting characters that fans seem most enamored of—and are given the least information about—is Kitty's vampire ally, Rick (the Master of Denver).

For those (like me) who need a little brushing up on some of what went on toward the end of the series, Rick leaves Denver for a while in order to explore a different way to take on Dux Bellorum (the series' Big Bad).

This book gives the reader some insight into what Rick was up to during this time. The book stitches together four short stories about Rick's origin (some previously published, some not) while Rick introduces himself to the Order of Saint Lazarus.

I'd already read the first story, "Conquistador de la Noche," in the collection <b>Kitty's Greatest Hits</b>—but it worked really well in this setting, too—this sets the stage for the rest of Rick's history and tells about him becoming a vampire. The next two stories show what happens when he first encounters the Vampire sub-culture and is first exposed to the rules (most) Vampires live by and how Rick skirts the edges of those rules and starts to make both a name for himself and build his different kind of power base.

The fourth story is my favorite detailing what happens when Rick meets a legendary Old West character. It was just a great story with an element of fun. It's also something the reader is told that Rick's never told anyone about before. It's precisely the kind of thing that Kitty would kill to hear, she's constantly asking vampires and other supernatural types for stories like this. That Rick would go out of his way to deprive her of this story (but we get to read it) was a little extra dash of fun.

I don't know that this gave me a much better picture of Rick—the novels had pretty much done that. We know his character, we may not understand his past and what he was—but we know who he <i>is</i>. But this book rounds out our understanding of the man and gives the reader a little hope for his future.

Once I cottoned on to what Vaughn was doing—stitching together short stories—I was a little skeptical of the format. But I came around pretty quickly and decided it worked really well. It's better than a simple short story collection, essentially giving us a bonus story. The stories (including the framing device) feel different from the Kitty series, but not so much that it doesn't feel like the same world.

A cool bonus of this—you can read it totally independent of the Kitty Norville series. It's not dependent <i>at all</i> on the events or people of the series (there are references to certain antagonists, but not in any way that makes familiarity with the series necessary for understanding).

I do have to wonder about the timing of this—the series ended almost five years ago, so I'm not sure I get why we're getting this material in this format now. But that's just me being curious, not complaining. Did I (or the series) need <b>The Immortal Conquistador</b>? No. But I'm very glad I got it.

<i><b>Disclaimer:</b> I received this eARC from Tachyon Publications via NetGalley in exchange for this post —thanks to both for the opportunity.</i>

which totally explains why I'm so ridiculously late to the party, but when the opportunity presented itself to review the audio book and I discovered that Michael Ferraiuolo is the narrator and guess who just happens to be on my top 10 list of narrators...well, really who was I to do anything but say yes please.

Ok, so let's start with the elephant in the room...well, actually there's two of them in the room for me and can I just say this room's getting really, really cozy right about now...ok, the first elephant 'catholic priest gone astray' sorry just totally not my thing. Don't get me wrong I'm not a devout Catholic who has some illusion about priest being perfect because it's more like I'm a non-practicing Anglican who knows that...'that dog don't hunt no more'. I think for me it's a case of this is one of those things that happens in real life that, I'd rather not have show up in my fiction and yet here it is and here I am as for elephant #2 let's call a spade a spade because if it's an elephant it's just a teeny tiny little dumbo sized elephant call 'rock star-itis'...that's right I'm not much of a fan of rock star stories, I tend to be really fussy about them...a bit more so than some other sub-genres. It just tends to work out that I either really, really love them or they go horribly wrong for me, so while I do read them they're not usually my subject of choice for reviewing. 

But considering that this is a combination of one of my absolute favorite narrators, Michael Ferraiuolo combined with 2 authors who have written one or more books that I'm wildly crazy about I was feeling pretty good about the chances of liking this audio book and while I was pretty damned optimistic about my chances of enjoying this story I have to admit at the end of it even I was surprised by how much I really loved it... truthfully I wanted to simply go back to the beginning and start all over again once I was done. 

'Vespertine' drew me in, in ways that only a truly wonderful story can. I loved the characters and not just Jasper and Nicholas...although I did become a devoted fan of them both, but there were a wealth of other characters who added so much color and depth to the story from Jasper and Nicholas's parents to members of Vespertine and the community that Jasper and Nicholas grew up in. Not only did the authors make the events of this book feel grounded in reality but they kept the characters there as well. Nicholas's parents were loving and supportive but at the same time I felt their worries and concern for what was happening in his life and much of the time I was right there with them. Then there was the relationship between Jasper and his mother...far more fragile than that if Nicholas and his parents but every bit as possible and realistic.

Jasper and Nicholas grew up together as best friends until they weren't...until that day that friendship became love and then unexpectedly for Nicholas...Jasper left. He followed his calling to the priesthood and Nicholas turned to his own church...that of sex, drugs and rock & roll until years later, after a stint in rehab Nicholas goes home to try and truly put himself back together and find the man who loved the music before the drugs.

While we get a lot of background about these two men as the story progresses it's woven into the events of the present and in many instances gives clarity to not just what's happened in the past but what it's effect is on events in the present.

'Vespertine' is second chances, starting over, seeking forgiveness, coming home, rediscovering love and very probably a few other things that I've missed. It's a story that leaves you breathless, makes you laugh and cry. it's not about losing faith so much as finding it where you least expect it and yes there's a priest in it but there isn't any preaching.

At just over 14 hours I can't say that this is a quick read or listen if you choose the audio version as I did but what I can say is I loved it and it's definitely going at the top of my very, very short list of 'books involving men-of-faith'.

Once again with the help of her writing partner Indra Vaughn and the incredible narrations of Michael Ferraiuolo, Ms. Blake has taken things that really don't appeal to me, mixed them all together and made something that I loved...it's definitely magic of the best kind.

*************************

An audio book of 'Vespertine' was graciously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes, but Goalie Interference was just an okay read for me. Ryu and Emmitt are competitors. They both want the top position, and they both want to be on the ice for the playoffs. There is some back and forth in the very beginning, but other than that, I never really got the enemies to lovers vibe. That fierce sense of rivalry is there, and they both want to win. They wouldn't be valuable players if they didn't, but I just never got that animosity that comes with being enemies. The big, angsty problem is what I expected, and we get lots of moping on both sides, maybe a little too much moping. There is some wit and fun, mostly when Emmitt and Ryu are interacting with the team, particularly Morley. I absolutely love the fun-loving Morley. Given the circumstances, the relationship isn't public knowledge, and Ryu isn't even out, but that isn't a cause for worry here, which was refreshing in this type of romance. I will add that for those who want gameplay, this one gives us plenty of that. As the team heads into the playoffs, the play gets more and more exciting, and the authors do an excellent job of drawing you into the game. In the end, Ryu and Emmitt do have good chemistry, and their story is certainly plenty steamy, but it lacks the highs and lows of enemies turning into lovers while they fight every step of the way. It is certainly worth the read, and I'll be interested to see what's next for this series - I'm secretly hoping Morley gets a turn soon. As for this one, it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but it did keep me entertained with its engaging characters and gameplay.

Date Published: July 10, 2018

Format: Print

Source: Library

Date Read: September 23, 2019

Blurb:

Lady "Poppy" Pyppenia is guarded by the Sleepless Knight Cyrenic, but becomes endangered when an assassin threatens her life in the new king's reign. As Poppy and Cyrenic try to discover who wants her dead, they must navigate the dangerous waters of life at court, and of their growing feelings for one another.

Collects issues 1-6.

_______________________________________________________________________

Review

So good, I bought the second volume on Kindle because my libraries didn't have a copy. I picked this up to read for the A Grimm Tale square. Poppy is the illegitimate (in the eyes of her father's subjects) daughter of the dead king and niece of the new king (she is considered legitimate by her mother's people). Poppy wants to leave the kingdom and go home (back to her mother's land), but the new king wants her to stay to be a companion/tutor to his daughter (the future queen), who was raised in her mother's land and is a stranger to the land that she now somewhat rules. And someone at court wants Poppy dead - is it the future queen? Is it the king's nephew, who is looking for a advantageous marriage to the future queen but will settle with marrying Poppy?

On the journey to survive court intrigue is Poppy's official bodyguard, Cyrenic of the Sleepless Knights, and maybe the future queen herself. The relationship with Cyrenic is romantic but also respectful; the relationship between the princess and Poppy is about both royals throwing truth bombs at each and being real with each other. It is weird in a good way. The star reader from her mother's land allows Poppy to keep a connection with that land strong while also giving her a surrogate mother figure. 

The artwork is elevated by the colors used - it is a very autumn-y. The dresses are just as big, silky, and beautiful as the ones in Disney movies. The bags and undereye circles on the Sleepless Knights makes them (especially Cyrenic) made them different than the typical knight in shining armor perfection, more relatable. The balance between the characters and the plot is quick but fits the graphic novel format so well.