Favorite Heroes for 2008

Just like last year, picking my five favorite heroes out of everything I reviewed is the hardest category for me, bar none. Eventually, though, I got the list whittled. Eventually.

4th Runner Up
Colin MacLean in Highlander's Challenge by Jo Barrett

Colin is the alpha Highlander to the core. Temperamental, used to getting his own way, protective to the point of ignoring his own needs...and look at that gorgeous body on the cover.

3rd Runner Up
Mikhail Kozlof in Tango's Edge by Carole Bellacera

Mikhail is charming, gorgeous, talented, and best of all, human. He is the main reason it is so easy to fall in love with the romance in this book, as he entices the reader as much as he does the heroine.

2nd Runner Up
Ren Stanfield in My Valentine by Annie Dean

Ren Stanfield was one of the most broken, fascinating characters I read all year. He has dark, masochistic tendencies, and there's a definite tragedy about his entire existence that dares the reader not to care about him. Haunted. That's the best word to use, both for him and how he left me.

1st Runner Up
Adrien English in The Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon

The heart and soul of this series is its protagonist, Adrien. He's come so far from the first book, and had to endure so much. I'm the first to admit that when I fall for a series, I fall hard. Nine times out of ten, it's because of the main character. This is definitely one of those times.

And my favorite hero of 2008 is...
Markhat in Dead Man's Rain/The Mister Trophy by Frank Tuttle

See my note above about falling for protagonists in series? Markhat is another example of that. I love Tuttle's work for more than his main character, but Markhat plays a huge part of my adoration for these stories. He's the fatalistic, funny detective, the one with the unique perspective on the world. He makes me laugh, he makes me think, and best of all, he makes me care.

My Valentine by Annie Dean

TITLE: My Valentine
AUTHOR: Annie Dean
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 82k)
GENRE: Reincarnation erotic romance
COST: $ 7.99

Two couples, separated by time, bound by destiny. In England, 1821, Lady Beatrice gives a hunted man shelter, only to discover that the heart she thought incapable of passion simply needed the right touch to ignite. For his part, Ren finds a woman capable of seeing past the façade, for the man he dares not be. But circumstances are not kind, even after love blossoms.

Almost two hundred years later, strong and independent Maya Hanoush is about to lose the best friend she ever had, the only man to make it past her brittle front. Darnell doesn’t remember not loving the beautiful Maya, but he’s tired of being second best.

Things are about to change.

Technically, this story works in conjunction with Dean's The Average Girl's Guide to Getting Laid, taking two secondary characters and giving them their own romance. However, it's given a very different treatment than I usually read, and doesn't actually require reading the first book to understand (though your appreciation of the second part will definitely vary, I think, if you haven't).

The story starts out in England, early 19^th century, at a young man's sixteenth birthday party where darker tendencies and a morose personality are hinted at. In walks a slightly older, plain jane young woman and a drinking binge turns into groping, turns into more, and her virtue is taken. The characters are sharply drawn, each fascinating in their own right. The story then jumps fifteen years, raising the questions that drive the rest of the first part: Where is the fallout? What happened?

It doesn’t take long to find the story's rhythm again, which is actually the novel’s greatest strength. Life breathes in the minutiae of Beatrice’s life, and when the hunted man she shelters enters the picture, I’m enthralled again.

I can’t, however, say I’m surprised from that point out. It’s very clear to me from the get-go just who this man is, what exactly is haunting him, how it all intertwines with Beatrice. I almost feel that I would have enjoyed the shock of it more if the prologue never existed. As it stands, it pretty much tells the reader the facts she needs to fill in the blanks when the characters refuse to.

But that’s not why I devoured Beatrice and Ren’s love story. I fell for their pain, for their very real need for each other. I loved how we saw glimmers of just how dark Ren could be, and how Beatrice both tempered and drew that out. It was a punch in the gut when part one ended, and I was more than a little furious with Beatrice for doing what seemed rash, even by her new standards. But it was done. And I still had part two to read.

I have to confess that I didn’t remember a lot about Darnell and Maya from The Average Girl’s Guide to Getting Laid except that Darnell had a huge thing for Maya, she was beautiful and unattainable, and that Ash (the hero in the first book) had slept with her. Once I realized they were the couple in part two, I pulled out my copy of Guide and skimmed over their parts, refreshing my memory. And you know what? I’m still not convinced Darnell is a big enough character for this particular story. Of the four principles, I think he’s the weakest drawn, and while he’s likable, he doesn’t elicit the same intense feelings the other three do. He’s the nice guy. That’s not a bad thing, but in this case, being the nice guy just isn’t enough.

The other disadvantage the second part has to the first is its length. The relationship between Darnell and Maya isn’t as richly explored as Beatrice and Ren’s. In fact, the entire ending felt very rushed to me. After everything I had invested, after needing so desperately to have a happy ending for the lovers I thought deserved it, it got truncated to a few pages that skimped on what seemed like very pivotal details. I don't remember any indication of Valentine's Day being significant in the first part of the story, so when Darnell and Maya are having flashes of it being very important that something happen by then, I got confused. It never really got explained for me.

Does it mar my satisfaction with the story? A little bit, yeah. Does it keep me from recommending the story? Absolutely not. Dean’s skillful writing and her provocative characterizations make her one of the most consistent e-authors I’ve found.

And Ren will haunt me for a long time to come.

Readability	9/10 – Completely sucks me in, regardless of time period.
Heroes	8/10 – Darnell never interested me as much, but Ren’s dark side and masochistic behavior hooked into my gut and never let go.
Heroines	8/10 – Both strong women, though Maya’s exploration gets a little short-changed by the shorter second part of the story
Entertainment value	8/10 – The first story broke my heart, but I never completely bought the seams stitching it to the second half, though it was enjoyable enough.
World building	9/10 – Dean works like a pro, committing 100% to whatever world she is attempting to create.
TOTAL:	42/50

Favorite Authors of 2007

I’m a loyal reader. When I put an author on an autobuy list, it’s next to impossible to move it off. That’s most likely because authors have to really sell me in order to get onto the list in the first place. In regards to my choices for my top 4 authors I reviewed in 2007, two of them are now on that list (one through more reading, reviews of which will be coming in the New Year), and the other two are really close to being autobuys. That’s always a great feeling. I love having authors I can rely on.

3^rd Runner Up
Josh Lanyon

I actually compiled my lists right after I posted my last 2007 review. If I was compiling it now, Josh Lanyon would probably be higher. I’ve just finished reading and reviewing two of his three Adrien English mysteries (to be posted the week of 1/7/08), and with the completion of those, he’s now officially an autobuy. I love his spare, fluid prose. I love the noirish feel to his worlds, both in his real noir and his contemporary settings. I love his flawed characters. He makes me smile, he makes me think, he makes me feel. As a reader, I can’t ask for anything more.

2^nd Runner Up
Michelle L. Levigne

Probably not a surprise to see this author here since her book was my favorite non-erotic book of the year. I have the entire Bainevah series, and when I see her name, I know it’s going to be quality writing. She writes lush prose with fantastic otherworlds, painted in vibrant colors that make them leap from the page. I’m not sure why she hasn’t been enticed away by print publishers yet. She’s certainly better at fantasy than a lot of the other stuff I’ve read.

1^st Runner Up
Rowan McBride

This one probably shouldn’t be a surprise, either. I’ve only read one of this author’s books, but I have a recently re-released book on my TBR pile, and I’ll be tackling that in January, most likely. This book was the most pleasant surprise of the year for me, and I sincerely hope that the promise it showed pays off in subsequent books. Flawed characters, tight action, all good.

And my favorite author of the books I reviewed this year is:
Annie Dean

Ms. Dean’s books are on my autobuy list. I read three of her stories this year, and while I enjoyed all of them – one quite a bit more than the other two – they’re not the reason I adore her. Her voice is the single most distinctive, most entertaining, most literate voice I read online all year. Hands down. Even when I don’t necessarily care for a character, she keeps me hooked in the story by her clever phrasing, her colorful dialogue, and more. She’s moving into print now, and I have her book, Grimspace, pre-ordered. I didn’t even read the blurb. I just know I want it.

Favorite Heroes for 2007

My list of heroes I really liked this year was the biggest list I had to narrow down to four. Seriously, I wondered how I was going to do it, and if I wasn’t doing four for everything else, I would have easily doubled this list. In the end, though, these were the guys who linger with me, for one reason or another.

3^rd Runner Up
Nathan Doyle in Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon

Nathan has a slight advantage since I just recently read him, but the dichotomy of his scarred persona with his current desire for Mathew still makes me ache for him. I felt his pain, believed his confusion, rejoiced in Mathew’s attention. Plus, it gave me a huge surge of faith in this particular author.

2^nd Runner Up
Kit Fitzgeorge in Twist of Honor by Karen Welss

This is one of those men I would have read about, even if there hadn’t been a romance. I can see him as the protagonist in a historical literary novel, or something action-driven, or even a tragedy. It’s a testimony to the author’s talent that he transcends romantic hero status for me. Kit is a prime example of just solid characterization.

1^st Runner Up
Marius Asher in The Average Girl’s Guide to Getting Laid
by Annie Dean

If you read my blog, you know I give out very few 10’s. To me, a 10 is perfect, can’t be improved upon, can’t make me feel any better about it. Ash got one of the few I doled out this year. While I was reading, I was all about Ash. He was hot, and he was dominating, and oddly vulnerable in spite of it all. He’s not perfect, but that just makes it better in my eyes. I don’t care if can come across as a player sometimes. He still makes me squirm.

And my favorite hero of the books I reviewed this year is:

Paul Graham in
Paul’s Dream by Rowan McBride

Unlike Ash, Paul didn’t get a perfect 10, but when I was thinking about this list – before I compiled my possibilities – he was the first name to spring to mind. I said in my initial review that this book would linger with me, and Paul is the biggest reason for that. The journey he took in the story was my single favorite character arc of the past year. The flashes of vulnerability masked within the icy exterior made me yearn for him even more. Even now, he resonates with me. I sincerely believe he’ll resonate with me a year from now, too.

Do you have as hard a time as I did in picking your favorite heroes of the year? Or am I just crazy?

Favorite Heroines for 2007

Of the six categories I decided to highlight this year end, this one caught me most by surprise. Not because of what I eventually chose, but because of the dearth of choices compared to the other categories. It made me stop and wonder about why that might be. Am I extra critical of heroines in stories because I’m a woman? Do I read more for the escapism of the hero? Does the fact that most of them came from non-erotic stories mean anything? I actually think all three questions are valid, with the first two being true, as embarrassed as I am to admit it. There were few heroines that I reviewed this year that engaged me as much as the men did – which, by the way, was the single hardest category for me to narrow down to 4. But in the end, I picked the women I remember even months after reading the story.

3^rd Runner Up
Addie Alger in Your Alibi by Annie Dean

When it comes to contemporary heroines, I prefer them spunky. That’s how I think of Addie. In spite of rather bizarre situations in her life, she reads eerily normal, talks like any number of women I know, and is refreshing in a world of angst-ridden heroines.

2^nd Runner Up
Antonia in Twist of Honor by Karen Welss

This is my sole choice this year where I’m picking a heroine I actually liked less than the hero, though I still found her characterization rich and believable. There was a lot about Antonia that could have rubbed me the wrong way, but in the end, the author made her down-to-earth, devout without ramming it down my throat, intelligent and empathetic.

1^st Runner Up
Friday Maxwell in Shadow Vision by Samantha Storm

Spunky heroine #2. Six months after reading this, I still remember how funny she was, how sharp her commentary. This was a heroine who knew how to kick ass and take no prisoners, without losing her personality or femininity. I still regret that the rest of the story didn’t match the potential Friday had. I keep hoping that another story will come out that gives it to her.

And my favorite heroine of the books I reviewed this year is:

Elinor Montoya in
Snowdance by Sarita Leone

Elinor has a slight advantage over other heroines I read this year. I was treated to reading about her entire life, and thus, got to know her far better than I did any other female character I read. I’m okay with the fact that maybe the dialogue wasn’t the most natural-sounding. I was in her head enough, and I got to see so many pivotal moments of her life, that she’s an old friend regardless. Thinking of her simply makes me smile.

Now it’s your turn to tell me your favorite heroines of the year! Who made you laugh? Cry? Hold your breath? I’m looking for recs, so lay ‘em on me!

Best Covers for 2007

Because it’s the end of the year, and I’m in the throes of a busy holiday season, I’m not going to do any more reviews for 2007. Instead, I’m doing my favorites of all the stories I reviewed this year, in six different categories.

Today’s category is Best Cover.

3rd Runner Up
My Fair Captain by J.L. Langley, cover art by Anne Cain

Sometimes, naked chests work. They work well. Especially beautiful, slightly hairy chests like this one. Simple composition is often the best choice, and this one offers just enough other elements to stay honest to the story.

2nd Runner Up
The Seagrass Whore by Ellen Ashe, cover art by ML Benton

This cover made me stop and stare. I find it sensual and evocative. The red against the black and white grabbed me, hinting at the spookiness the story promised to provide. It even overcame my hesitation at a romance with the word “whore” in the title. That says a lot.

1st Runner Up
Beyond the Night by Sharon Long, cover art by Anne Cain

What do I love about this one? I love the composition, with so many intriguing elements. The contrast of the dark blue, light blue, and earthy tones blend into a very elegant composition. I also love the female model. She’s pretty and looks intelligent without being intimidating. A definite plus for me.

And my pick for the favorite cover I reviewed this year is…

Boundless by Annie Dean, Bonnie Dee, & Dionne Galace,
cover art by April Martinez

I think April Martinez is one of the best artists out there right now. Her covers are often achingly beautiful, simple images highlighted and colored in such ways to create something new and original. This cover in particular gives the impression of intricate layers, melded together into a seamless composition. She doesn’t detract with awkward coloring and there are enough elements to intrigue a reader to pick it up and look further.

So now I want to know what your favorite cover was on e-books that you bought this year. I'm not interested in self-pimping; I want to know what covers you loved as a reader. Did you love the book as much as the cover? Did it have to work harder to meet your expectations? Would you recommend it?

I want to know!

The Average Girl's Guide to Getting Laid by Annie Dean

TITLE: The Average Girl’s Guide to Getting Laid
AUTHOR: Annie Dean
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 81k)
GENRE: Contemporary erotic romance
COST: $6.99

Travel writer Ellie Campbell made a bet with her best friend that she could write something interesting. The result was a sales pitch to her agent for a book called, “The Average Girl’s Guide to Getting Laid.” Now, however, Ellie has to actually write the book, and the problem is, she has no idea where to start. In a deli in New York City, she gets hit on by the gorgeous Marius Asher – Ash to everyone who knows him – and she decides to take the experience and run with it. What she doesn’t expect is to get sucked into his life, or to realize that maybe a month-long fling wasn’t what she wants from him after all.

If I didn’t think it before, I do now. Annie Dean is officially on my auto-buy list. Of course, it looks like she’s moving into print, so I’m going to have to rely on Amazon to buy her stuff, but kudos to her. With an original voice and interesting characters that ring of truth, she’s got a real career in front of her.

In spite of my huge enjoyment for the author's voice, however, I was a little apprehensive going in to this book. Frankly, I get tired of seeing blurbs that look like excuses to have lots of sex, and there are a lot of them out there. There’s a time and place for those kind of stories, and I do get in the mood for them, but most of the time, I want a plot that doesn’t have anything to do at all with needing to have so much sex in a specific time period, or proving a point by having sex with the one you shouldn’t, or sexbots gone wild. The initial angle of this plot was more of the same – and a good part of the early to middle conflict – but an interesting development occurred.

I fell in love with Ash.

There. I admitted it. By halfway through the book, I would have gladly stepped up to the plate to fill in for Ellie when she was being a total boob about the whole situation. My heart broke when his did, I got frustrated with him, I felt it all. I know that he’s the type of character that would annoy some women I know. Frankly, he exudes player vibes more than once in the story, not to mention that he’s a tad on the rude and abrupt side when he thinks he’s losing control. But getting to see him in a wide variety of settings, from work to his family to his friends to Ellie, created a rounder picture that had me okay with some of his less than desirable characteristics. They made me understand those behaviors. Even better, he showed growth as the story progressed. And did I mention he was hot as hell?

Ellie, on the other hand, wasn’t quite as appealing to me. Her whole Earth Mother routine got a little too heavyhanded for me after a while. It’s really no wonder Ash falls for her. She waits on him hand and foot. She cooks, she cleans, she puts his needs first, she’s sexually open. Why shouldn’t he want this woman in his life? Oh, that’s right. She’s supposed to be the average woman. Um…no. Didn’t buy it. She did everything just a little too well for me to believe that.

I probably didn’t like her as much, either, because I thought some of her behavior – with her “work” as her so-called defense – was childish. Deserting Ash in the middle of a baseball game to chat up a guy for a few innings in the name of research? She deserved everything she got after that.

Still, when the ending rolled around, I had the biggest smile on my face that I’ve had in a very long time as a result of an e-book. It was romantic, completely in character, and made me melt. A tremendously satisfying read.

Readability	9/10 – Sharp dialogue, great description, highly readable
Hero	10/10 – Some people might have issues with some of his occasional boorish tendencies, but I haven’t loved a hero this much in a long time
Heroine	6/10 – The earth mother routine gets a little old, as does her constant complaining about being average when I don’t really believe it
Entertainment value	9/10 – Completely caught me up, and the ending had me giddy for a good hour after I finished
World building	9/10 – Dean’s prose and attention to detail makes even the mundane stand out.
TOTAL:	43/50

Boundless by Annie Dean, Bonnie Dee, & Dionne Galace

TITLE: Boundless
AUTHOR: Annie Dean, Bonnie Dee, & Dionne Galace
PUBLISHER: Liquid Silver Books
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 67k)
GENRE: Paranormal erotic romance
COST: $5.95

Shapeshifting and sex come together in these three novellas, as three different couples overcome their differences to fall in love.

“Seven Days” by Annie Dean is a week in the life of novitiate Teresa Wolff when incubus Dev arrives to try and steal her soul for the Devil. If he succeeds, he gains his freedom and can return to his natural form as a dragon. If he loses, he’s damned forever. Who wins? Ultimately, the appeal of this story isn’t the final result. Annie Dean writes some of the most gorgeous prose I see in e-books these days; even the blurb for this story on Liquid Silver’s site is gorgeous. She stands out in a sea of mediocre writing as someone with a gift for finding unique ways of describing things. In this story, too, she demonstrates some rather interesting insights regarding love, religion, and redemption that you just don’t find too often in romances. What the story lacks, however, is a sense of balanced pacing. I was completely into the story for the first two days, but I’ll admit, my devotion began to falter on the third day when Dev flies Teresa to Paris. At midnight. And they land in Paris and it’s still night. Now, Teresa says that the nearest big city to the monastery she lives in is Vancouver. That’s an 8-hour time difference to Paris. I know it’s silly, but I got completely jarred out of suspending my disbelief for this love story when I sat through the entire Paris section – which should have been wonderfully romantic – thinking, But even if they traveled in the blink of an eye, it’s still the next morning there! I couldn’t find a single explanation for it, and the fact that I went and re-read that section three times looking for it shows you just how jarred I got. Because I wanted to love this story as much as I loved the prose. In the end, I didn’t. Because Dean never managed to suck me back into disbelieving, especially when she starts throwing backstory in for Teresa at the last minute. And I’m still not sure exactly why we got the final result to the story that we did.

“The Straw Man” by Bonnie Dee is the story of a lonely, 32-year-old woman who owns and runs a local farm. It’s Halloween, and in a moment of loneliness, she makes a wish on her scarecrow for just one night with the perfect man that she then describes. Lo and behold, that man knocks at her door that night. But that’s all she gets. Even if she wants more. Well, I didn’t want more, I’m afraid. What started out promising, with Dee’s solid, competent prose, derailed quickly as soon as Marie, the heroine, threw caution to the wind and started macking on her come-to-life scarecrow. Marie had spunk until she started kissing him, and then she seemed to lose any semblance of a character at all. By the time she was begging him not to leave in the morning, I just didn’t care. I didn’t even get into the smut, which just seemed to go on and on and on, and in inactuality was barely a third of the story. The situation only got worse while I had to read about Marie being depressed for a good month after this one-night stand. Bored doesn’t even begin to describe my reaction to this entire story.

The final story is “Waking Kitty” by Dionne Galace. Jack Ridley, jaded reporter and Vicodin thief, gets sent out on assignment to report on a ship that mysteriously appears in the middle of a busy bar. There, he meets the eccentric waitress Kitty, complete with pink hair, great breasts, and smart mouth. What he doesn’t know is that Kitty is experiencing blackouts and memory loss, and when a man shows up in her apartment the next day claiming to be a dragon and her mate, she is driven back into Jack’s company, and his arms. And the action doesn’t stop there. “Waking Kitty” hits the ground running and then turns into a tornado of sharp lines, fast action, and over-the-top zaniness. The best part of it is, it doesn’t lose steam. I laughed in the beginning, and I laughed in the end, always a good sign. I absolutely adored Jack. I love how much not-a-hero he is – I mean really, when was the last time you read about your hero raiding medicine cabinets of his one-night stands? And Kitty’s his perfect match. These two are remarkably refreshing, though the haste with which they decide they’re so perfect each other detracted from the romance angle for me. What would have been great would have been to see these two have more than a single 24-hour-period to develop a relationship. They certainly were interesting enough to carry a full-length novel for me.

Though the anthology contains very different stories, at least two of these will stick with me for a while. I might have misgivings about Dean’s sense of pacing, but her prose more than makes up for it. Galace has a humor and freshness that make “Waking Kitty” my hands-down favorite of the three. I would have happily purchased each of these two stories singly and considered it money very well spent. These are the authors to watch out for.

Readability	8/10 – Technically superb with 2 of the most entertaining author voices I’ve read recently
Romance	5/10 – The various romances are probably the weakest part of these stories, with Dee’s the weakest of all
Characterization	7/10 – Quirky and interesting for the most part
Entertainment value	7/10 – Some fascinating ideas combined with humor and original characters means I quite enjoyed this anthology.
World building	6/10 – Some valiant attempts get thwarted with the lack of space to truly explain these worlds
TOTAL:	33/50

Your Alibi by Annie Dean

TITLE: Your Alibi
AUTHOR: Annie Dean
PUBLISHER: Liquid Silver Books
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 81k)
GENRE: Contemporary erotic romance
COST: $6.20

Addie Alger’s world is slowly falling apart. She’s got a widowed father burying his grief in crazy inventions, a gentle giant of a brother-in-law who’s burying his grief in other ways, an ex-husband who’s ruined her credit rating and left her thousands in debt, and a hotel in the middle of Nowhere, California that hasn’t had a customer in months. Financial relief comes at last when she hits on the idea of an online company, providing alibis to cheating spouses. It might not be the most ethical of methods, but at least it pays the bills.

Until Sean Duncan, the husband of one of her customers, shows up and starts looking for answers. His marriage is falling apart, and he wants to know why. Addie takes advantage of a physical attraction to try to distract him, but real life always has different plans.

There’s a lot that could potentially scare people away from this story. Like, the heroine helps people cheat for a living. Or, the hero is married when the two start their affair. But you know what? The story works anyway. It works for a few reasons, not the least of which is Ms. Dean’s absolutely gorgeous and refreshing prose. She’s funny, and evocative, and it’s very, very easy to get lost in her turns of phrase. Simple observations, such as It’s a hell of a thing, Sean reflected, to face your lover’s father, stark naked, that made me laugh out loud, or evocative descriptions that make the characters and setting leap off the page.

It also works because her leads are eerily normal in a world of crazy. They talk like real people. They act like real people. I could easily imagine knowing either one of them at various points of my life. Because of that, it’s easy to forgive or forget the less than moral circumstances that bring them together. Because guess what? Sometimes we make less than moral decisions. That’s life.

Where the story stumbles is in its length. While the first half of the story trips merrily along, taking the reader along for the crazy, amazing ride, the second half has a tendency to drag, as scenes that slow the pace get in the way of the story’s focus. More than once, the author dances around confronting the morality of what Addie is doing, and more than once, she dances right away from it. It probably doesn’t fit the comedic tone of the book to really address it the way it should be, but in that case, Ms. Dean should have just backed away from the entire issue in the first place.

Still, it’s an engaging read, and the author has a distinctive voice that makes me want to read her other stuff. I have to say, too, that while I sometimes found Sean a bit bland, his final speech to Addie got me. The last line of the story left a smile on my face, which, considering the tone of the entire book, is exactly what Ms. Dean intended, I'm sure. That means a job well done.

Readability	8/10 – Some gorgeous prose, though extraneous scenes and unneeded detail at crucial pacing moments detract
Heroine	8/10 – Spunky and fun, a breath of fresh air
Hero	7/10 – An Everyman that makes a nice change from some of the angstier heroes
Entertainment value	8/10 – This would be higher if the second half had been tighter; the story drags and loses focus
World building	10/10 – Gorgeous, original prose brings the Grail and this world to life
TOTAL:	41/50