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Fantasy

The Monster Punk Horizon audiobook is out!

November 7, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Hey, Holo fans! 😀 You’ve been waiting patiently, and now we’re pleased to announce that the Monster Punk Horizon audiobook is now live and loose in the wild! 😄

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

I had such a blast working with Tess Irondale on the Time Reavers audiobook several years ago that there was no question of who I wanted to voice the Monster Punk Horizon series. She’s brought the antics of Pix, Jaz, and company alive with aplomb, and I’ve been eager to share it with you since the moment I heard the very first samples.

Speaking of which, here’s a glimpse:

I’m equally eager to hear what you all think of it! 😄 Reader reactions to the book thus far have been wonderful and wildly beyond what I expected, and it’s been a real delight to meet these new readers, whether through their reviews or on our Facebook Page. Here are some of my favorite responses:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So imagine your gaming console, anime collection, and your box of Steve Jackson’s Munchkin got together for a wild night after you went to bed, and months later gave birth to a book. That book would be called Monster Punk Horizon.

The first few chapters left my ADD-riddled brain scrambling, trying to come to grips with the world I was being presented, and the uber-threat that soon stomps into their world, but as I became comfortable with the knowledge I’d signed on for a wild ride, I just buckled in and got my popcorn ready. MPH is an irreverent good time, loaded with wild, funny and colorful characters.

If you are at all a fan of isekai anime, or Monster Hunter or just a redonkulous good time, pick up Monster Punk Horizon.

Philip K. Booker

Amazon Reviewer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ HILARIOUS FUN!!! … I haven’t read many books that make me audibly laugh out loud, so I’m very glad I gave this book a chance, because now I can add it to that list! SO. MANY. FUNNY. MOMENTS. As someone who enjoys nerdy, Dungeons-and-Dragons-inspired adventures, this was an absolute thrill to read. The content was very geared for nerdy fans, but the humor and relatable characters made it easy for any reader to understand and have a good time reading!

Melisa

Goodreads Reviewer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I had to look twice when I spotted this book. I am a huge Monster Hunter fan. I’ve played for thousands of hours for well over a decade and a half. So to say I was excited to find a book about living that kind of life was an understatement!

This book was an adventure. It was exciting, suspenseful, and I loved the characters. The action kept me flipping those pages as fast as I could … This book brought so much nostalgia and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. 

Nina Diab

Amazon Reviewer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Monster Punk Horizon by H.P. Holo is by far the best book I’ve read all year. The writing is top notch with all the witty dialogue and narration. The whole setting is absolutely insane in the best of ways. All the characters are great as well as distinct. … I will definitely reread it again, I just freaking love it!

Read this book, you won’t regret it.

BookDragon

Goodreads Reviewer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a good story, silly in all the right places, and not shying away from the ridiculousness built into the worldbuilding of many games … Well done!

Sarah

Amazon Reviewer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this book. The interactions with the main characters, Jaz and Pix, were highly entertaining. Though this book has some flaws, it’s exactly what I wanted it to be. It’s a fun and fast paced read with a memorable cast and great world building. I recommend this to anyone looking for a book that doesn’t take itself too seriously and wants a few laughs out of their books.

David Sherrer

Goodreads Reviewer

I’m delighted that so many have already enjoyed it so much, and look forward to sharing much, much more of the Monster Punk Horizon universe with all of you. 😊

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Action, action adventure, action comedy, action fantasy, adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, GameLit, Humorous Fantasy, Monster Hunter, Monster Hunters, Monster Punk Horizon

Listen to H.P. chat Monster Punk Horizon on the Blasters and Blades Podcast!

October 20, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Hey, Holo fans! 😀 The Blasters and Blades Podcast invited me on to chat Monster Punk Horizon, and it was one of the most fun interviews I’ve ever done.

If you’d like a deeper look into the Monster Punk Horizon universe, or just a general good time, give it a listen! 😄

Also, if you enjoyed what you heard, make sure to follow them on Anchor.fm, Facebook, and Twitter, and if you really enjoyed what you heard, you can support the show here! 😄

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: adventure, Blasters and Blades, Blasters and Blades Podcast, Fantasy, fantasy adventure, fantasy comedy, GameLit, GameLit Comedy, Interview, Monster Hunter, Monster Hunters, Monster Hunting, Monster Punk Horizon, Monsters, Podcast

H.P. Talks Monster Punk Horizon on the Blasters and Blades Podcast!

October 18, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Join H.P. on the Blasters and Blades Podcast as she chats her first new series in years, GameLit Fantasy Adventure Monster Punk Horizon!

LISTEN ON YOUTUBE
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

LISTEN ON RUMBLE

Filed Under: Interviews and Podcasts Tagged With: adventure, Blasters and Blades, Blasters and Blades Podcast, Fantasy, GameLit, LitRPG, Monster Punk Horizon

It’s Monster Punk Horizon’s Launch Week!

October 12, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

It’s almost time for Monster Punk Horizon to be unleashed upon the world, and H.P. has lots of fun stuff planned this week to lead up to and beyond the release day (Thursday, October 14th, BTW)! 😀

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch to keep up with all she has planned! Each weeknight for the next two weeks, she’ll host an online video chat exploring a different corner of the Monster Punk Horizon world, taking reader questions – and sometimes giving out signed prizes! 😮 Check out the schedule below to see what’s in store. (Links below go to YouTube and will be updated as available.)

And of course, don’t forget that you can preorder Monster Punk Horizon now on Amazon – or read it starting Thursday on Kindle Unlimited!

Monster Punk Horizon Launch Week+ Events

  • Tuesday, October 12th @ 8pm EST – H.P. Talks Monster Punk Horizon
  • Wednesday, October 13th @ 8pm EST – H.P. Reads Monster Punk Horizon: Chapter 1
  • Thursday, October 14th @ 8pm EST – Monster Punk Horizon Virtual Launch Party ✨ WITH PRIZES! ✨
  • Friday, October 15th @ 8pm EST – The World of Monster Punk Horizon
  • Tuesday, October 19th @ 8pm EST – H.P. Reads Monster Punk Horizon: Chapter 2, H.P. Reads Monster Punk Horizon: Chapter 3
  • Wednesday, October 20th @ 8pm EST – The Monsters of Monster Punk Horizon
  • Thursday, October 21st @ 8pm EST – The Characters of Monster Punk Horizon

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: action adventure, action comedy, action fantasy, adventure, Fantasy, fantasy adventure, fantasy comedy, Game Lit, GameLit, GamerLit, LitRPG, Monster Hunter, Monster Hunters, Monster Punk Horizon, Video Games

Welcome to the New Website!

October 11, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Hey, Holo fans! Things are looking a little different over here – in a good way!

After 7 years publishing (Has it really been that long? 😲) we decided our website was in need of an upgrade, and now, thanks to ModFarm Design, we’d like to welcome you to this glorious, shiny, new hub for all things Holo Writing.

Here you’ll find complete details on all our books and series – from summaries to audio samples to review snippets – as well as our blog, newsletter signup, swag shop, and an easy-to-use contact page if you just want to say hi. 😊

Also, author pals: If you’re in the market for a website or website glow-up, Rob at ModFarm is amazing. He’s attentive to what authors want from their sites and determined to make it happen, customer service is near-instant, and site-building in general was pretty quick. The whole design experience gets a big thumbs-up from us! 👍

All that said, welcome to the new website! 😄 Drop in and explore a while!

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Author Site, Author Website, Authors, Comedy, Fantasy, GameLit, LitRPG, Modfarm Design, New Website, Sci Fi, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Steampunk, time travel, Website

Excess (Monster Punk Horizon #3) – Cover Reveal!

August 16, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

If you’ve been following us these past two weeks, you’ve seen the first two books in my new series, Monster Punk Horizon, and now Jacob and I are delighted to bring you the cover reveal for Book 3! 😀

Art by Jackson Tjota

Excess (Monster Punk Horizon #3)
by Jacob & H.P. Holo


🌟 GameLit 🌟 Crafting 🌟 Adventure 🌟 Comedy 🌟


✨ Coming December 23rd, 2021 ✨

Audio Release Date TBD


🐉🐉🐉

Loot Like Your Life Depends On It!

Losing a trusty weapon is like losing a close friend, and Pix’s beloved capacitor blade is on its last legs.

Fortunately, she has a plan to craft a new, even better weapon. Unfortunately, her plan involves hunting down a vicious migrating monster that has more teeth than some hunters have brain cells. Even worse, this new creature has riled up the apex monster of Skull Harbor, and both of them are spoiling for a fight.

But Pix has one thing they don’t: a party foolhardy enough to take them both on.

She’ll need all the help she can get, because it’ll take all their combined luck, skill, and oversized weapons to put down these two monsters. But her friends have her back. After all, there’s awesome loot to be had!

If they manage to survive…

Preorder Here!
Or Read a Sample of Book One Here!

Excess is unique from the previous two Monster Punk Horizon books in that it’s a collaboration between me and Jacob!

While I was writing Book 1, Jacob became so fascinated with the world he watched me create that he wanted to write a story in it – and since he was between books in the Gordian Division series at the time, he took the lore I’d already established in Book 1, created a new monster, and churned out the rough draft of Book 3 before I’d even started Book 2! 😄 I then went over it after I’d finished Book 2 and  H.P.-ified the parts Jacob had marked “write whatever here.”

Excess is slightly different in style, too, in that it follows Pix more than Jaz – which is to say, it follows Jacob’s Monster Hunter character instead of my Monster Hunter character. 😉

As you may have guessed from the vibe of the covers, one of Monster Punk Horizon‘s original inspirations came from our nights playing Monster Hunter World together. It’s not quite fanfiction; in fact, my first step when designing the series was to create a world whose basic mechanics and essential history were independent of the various fictions that inspired it, but that still allowed me to pay homage to those fictions and to insert Easter Eggs for fans. 

Even so, our gameplay experience in Monster Hunter World is very much in the DNA of the Monster Punk Horizon series, and particularly in how Pix and Jaz came to be in the first place. Jacob and I have wildly different play styles, his very strategic and mine very … not.  😆 Plus, when I play video games, I have a tendency to invent headcanons totally separate from the lore of whatever game I’m playing – especially in games with stories as simple as Monster Hunter World‘s.

Because of that, Pix and Jaz had personalities and backstories before I even knew I was going to write Monster Punk Horizon, solely because I needed a way to entertain myself during loading screens, and making up stuff about our player characters was a fun way to do it. It’s no coincidence, then, that Jaz is the Leeroy Jenkins of the pair (me), while Pix is the methodical gamer who likes to go in with a plan (Jacob). Stories told from Jaz‘s perspective – that is, Books 1 and 2 – are thus rather more chaotic than stories told from Pix‘s perspective, which I think brings a nice balance to the series as a whole.  After all, even worlds as crazy as this one need a break from the craziness every now and then. 😊

Excess (Monster Punk Horizon #3) is set to release on Kindle Unlimited this December, and is already available for preorder.

And again, if you’d like to be one of the lucky people to read it early, be sure to join the Pug Scouts – our VIP Street Team! 😀 I’ll be sending out eARCs soon, and all you have to do in exchange for your free book is post a review once the book is live!

Join Our Street Team Here!

***

Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Action, action adventure, adventure, Collaborating, Collaboration, Comedy, coming soon, Excess, Fantasy, fantasy comedy, GameLit, gamer, gaming, Kindle Unlimited, Leeroy Jenkins, LitRPG, Loot, Monster Hunt, Monster Hunter, Monster Hunter games, Monster Hunter Rise, Monster Hunter World, Monster Hunting, Video Games

Introducing Monster Punk Horizon – a New GameLit Series from H.P. Holo!

August 2, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Yesterday’s blog post told you there’d be interesting book-and-monster-related news, and here it is!

It’s been a looooong time coming, but I’m excited to announce that I finally have a new series coming out! 😀

What new series is this, you ask? 😮 Well, read on!

Where my last book The Wizard’s Way was a love letter to all things steampunk, this series is a love letter to all things monster – hunting, collecting, researching … and sometimes, befriending and bribing into badass kaiju battles. 😄

See, while I was in the process of writing The (still-in-progress) Wizard’s Circus, I flipped through some of my early writing notebooks from middle school and junior high. Around that time, I was obsessed with Pokémon, Digimon, Monster Rancher, and virtually every other monster franchise that was coming over from Japan at that time – and it showed in my writing. There were monsters and monster trainers/tamers/friends everywhere, and as I continued to flip through these notebooks, I realized that decades later, I’m still into these kinds of franchises.

After all, as of recently, Jacob and I have been spending our weekends competing in Digimon Card Game tournaments, and even before that we spent most evenings playing Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise together!

It was then that an idea hit me, and would not let go until I’d brought it to realization – a series that pays loving homage to all those monster franchises in much the same way The Wizard’s Way did to steampunk fantasy.

And so, without further ado, I present to you Monster Punk Horizon, a GameLit fantasy adventure comedy coming soon to Kindle Unlimited! 

Cover art by Jackson Tjota

Monster Punk Horizon #1

🌟 GameLit 🌟 Fantasy 🌟 Adventure 🌟 Comedy 🌟

✨ Coming October 14th, 2021! ✨

Audio Release Date TBA

🐉🐉🐉

Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit!

Pix and Jaz are two girls who just want to hunt monsters, craft armor, and pay off their college loans—but when a colossal new monster falls through the portals in the Dazzling Skies, it’ll take all their skills to survive it.

Their skill levels? Slightly above noob.

Fortunately, they have their oversized swords, a lot of sass … and one giant monster friend who might help them out.

For a price…

Preorder Here!
Or Read a Sample Here!

The eBook is already up for preorder on Amazon (and paperback and audio are coming), but if you’d like to be one of the lucky people to read it early, be sure to join the Pug Scouts – our VIP Street Team! 😀

Join our Street Team Here!

I’ll be sending review copies out to Street Team members soon, and all you have to do in return for your free copy is post a review online once the book releases! 😀

In the meantime, keep an eye on the blog for next week’s cover reveal for Monster Punk Horizon #2! 😄

***

Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: adventure, Comedy, Digimon, Digimon Card Game, Fantasy, fantasy adventure, fantasy comedy, GameLit, Kaiju, LitRPG, Monster Hunter, Monster Hunter Rise, Monster Hunter World, Monster Hunting, Monster Rancher, Monsters, new book, Pokemon

Reborn as a Vending Machine, Now I Wander the Dungeon, Vol. 1 – Light Novel Review

May 9, 2021 by hpholo 1 Comment

We’ve established before that I’ll pick up books for the sheer WTFery of their titles alone.

That said, there was no way I was going to skip Hirukawa’s Reborn as a Vending Machine, Now I Wander the Dungeon, Volume 1 (illustrated by Ituwa Kato). 😄

In Reborn as a Vending Machine, our nameless protagonist is a vending machine enthusiast (yes), who’s crushed to death when he tries to catch a falling vending machine (yes), and wakes up in a fantasy world with the brand new body of … a vending machine (but you guessed that already).

He can’t move on his own. He can only talk in canned vending machine phrases like “Insert coins” or “Get one free with a winner.” And though he can convert money into magical points to fuel himself, he’s in the middle of a forest and running out of power. Fortunately, along comes the adventurer Lammis. She’s a cute, sweet girl, and despite her size, her Blessing of Might allows her to pick him up like it’s nothing and take him to her home settlement – where she and her fellow villagers are fascinated by this new magical item. 😯

And, well, being a vending machine enthusiast in a vending machine’s body, he decides to do the natural thing – and become the best darn vending machine he can possibly be. 😊

I’ve had such hit and miss experiences with light novels that my only real hope for this book was “Please be readable, 😬” so it was a delight to discover that the novel was not only readable, but unexpectedly charming (and followed by Volumes 2 and 3). 😀

I mean, you have to admit there’s something endearing and admirable about a character who wakes up as an inanimate object and goes “Welp, this is my life now. Might as well be good at it.” And as absurd as the setup is, in the context of its own world, it actually works quite well.

Like most isekai (“another world”) stories, this one features a character stat and magic system where characters can take special abilities (here called Blessings) and amass points to level up. This is how Boxxo, as he’s christened by Lammis and the others, gains his Force Field (ever useful when thieves and monsters try to break into him). He also uses his converted points not only to power himself, but to upgrade his vending machine body to become more durable, and to add new items for villagers to buy from him. He has access to any item he bought from a vending machine before he died, and they’re all novelties to the characters in this fantasy setting – not to mention useful. Soon he finds himself being taken on campaigns to feed adventuring parties in the field, being asked to provide unique items to help out in the settlement, and so on.

The story is a simple, almost slice-of-life one (the major problem at the climax is that Boxxo gets stolen and…well, he can’t move on his own) but Boxxo himself carries it with his upbeat characterization and resourcefulness. It’s fun to see how he solves problems by choosing what to offer his customers, and his past life as a vending machine enthusiast is evident in how he chooses the products. (Several sections go into minor detail about the manufacturers of certain products and why said products were designed the way they were.) The direr situations in which he finds himself also require him to think quickly, to determine how to best spend his limited magic points for defensive upgrades, often mid-danger.

The other characters are fun, too, but frankly they’re just anime archetypes, and in fact a lot of the episodic situations of the story follow similar familiar tropes. (There’s a bathhouse scene, naturally. And speaking of such content, some of the illustrations are pretty obviously aimed at readers who like boobs, but the novel itself never gets more scandalous than Boxxo being embarrassed about being in the presence of said boobs.)

All in all, for an isekai fan who’s looking for something light, fun, and just a little different, Reborn as a Vending Machine, Now I Wander the Dungeon, Volume 1 is worth a read. To my own surprise, I’ll be buying the next two volumes, because familiar as it may be, there’s something just that delightful about the story of little vending machine that could. 😊

***

Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Comedy, Fantasy, fantasy adventure, fantasy comedy, Hirukuma, ituwa kato, light novel, light novels, Now I Wander the Dungeon, Reborn as a Vending Machine, Reborn as a Vending Machine Now I Wander the Dungeon, Recommended

Giveaway – Steam + Powers

March 12, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Looking for some steampunk with a bit of magic thrown in? If so, we’ve got a giveaway for you! 😀

We’ve teamed up with five of our #AuthorBuds to give away signed copies of Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Beginnings by Lydia Sherrer, Gizmos: Dreams of Steam, Volume 4 edited by Kimberly Richardson, Fey West by Michael J. Allen, Blood Ties by Quincy J. Allen, Webley and the World Machine by Zachary Chopchinski, and our very own The Wizard’s Way.

All you have to do to enter is click here and follow the directions on screen.

Want to increase your chances of being one of the three lucky winners? 😯 Be sure to check your inbox for a confirmation email. Inside that email will be several social media sharing links. For every person who enters this contest through the links you share from that email, you’ll get five additional entries, so share away!

Contest runs from now through Saturday, March 20th. Good luck! 😊

***

Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Giveaways and Contests Tagged With: AuthorBuds, beginnings, blood ties, contest, dreams of steam, Fantasy, fey west, giveaway, giveaways, gizmos, Kimberly Richardson, Love Lies and Hocus Pocus, lydia sherrer, Magic, michael j allen, quincy j allen, signed book, signed books, Steampunk, the lily singer adventures, The Wizard's Way, webley and the world machine, zachary chopchinski

Discarded – Book Review

January 16, 2021 by hpholo 1 Comment

Never underestimate the power of a good title, y’all. I read this entirely because its series name was Dumpstermancer – and ended up finding a surprise favorite.

In Discarded (Dumpstermancer #1) by Michael J. Allen, talented spell architect Elias Graham has just been released from a hellish magical prison, having served a sentence of 100 years. For a crime he didn’t commit. After he was framed by his closest friends.

And all he’d wanted to do was use his magic to help people.

Now, barred by law from using magic and without a friend in the world, Eli’s only option is to live on the streets. Still bitter from the betrayal, he only wants to go as unnoticed and unbothered as possible – but the magical forces around him have other plans. Thoth Corp, the magic-dealing corporation he helped build, has been secretly turning people into monsters, and the local fey – long thought extinct – need his help before those monsters wipe them out.

But Eli is the most unwilling of heroes…

Simply put, Discarded is unlike any fantasy I’ve ever read, urban or otherwise.

In a genre where most heroes are gung ho for their adventure (even if they take some convincing to start it) and are usually sent off with some kind of aid or magic weapon, Eli stands out as a character who doesn’t want to leave his alley and starts out with literally nothing of use, not even access to his own magical ability. He’s as vulnerable as any other homeless person struggling to survive on the scraps of society, and it is from this that the novel’s strength is derived.

That its protagonist is homeless already makes Discarded stand out from other fantasy novels, but the brunt of its strength is in how brutally and vividly realized Eli’s homelessness is. He isn’t the sort of character who overcomes challenges easily Because He’s The Main Character. He’s the sort of character for whom staying warm, sheltered, and fed is a struggle on top of his magical struggles. When the author describes the conditions he faces, the reader can feel the cold in his alley and fear the results of a nearby woman’s misunderstood scream, and enough of those conditions go wrong for him that the reader has no confidence that he’ll succeed, or succeed in the way he wants to. (Especially considering that the forces that worked to frame him in the first place are still actively working against him.) All this combined makes the book intensely suspenseful – and that’s even before you consider the magical plotline.

Speaking of which, the magic of this setting is fascinating. This is a modern setting parallel to our own where magic has been (mostly) tamed and franchised, where even non-magically-talented people can buy spell boards and components at the magical equivalent of the Apple Store and use them to do any number of petty miscellaneous things. It’s a setting where “mananets” convey magic with the same efficiency of electrical lines – which are still present in this world, as magic and technology coexist, if a bit awkwardly. (Eli holds that magic is just science that hasn’t been figured out yet, but many in the setting view the two as naturally separate.) Eli himself was once at the center of this magical boom, being one of the founders of magical super-franchise Thoth Corp, and this forms another huge part of his character.

Eli could be a hard character to like. He’s an intensely bitter person, and so stubborn about it that he refuses help from even well-meaning people. Some of this comes down to pride – even homeless, he holds himself to a high standard of self-sufficiency – but much of it comes down to the fact that he was so thoroughly betrayed before the story started. After all, his forays into magic began because he wanted to help people with it, until his companions decided to take his company on a more duplicitous, careless route and got rid of him in such an extreme way that it resulted in him spending the equivalent of a century in a magical prison known as The Wasteland, where his punishment was to simply suffer other prisoners in a desert with limited resources. His soul is so scarred by the horrible depth of those circumstances that he sees no point in going out of his way to do any form of good, if there’s a chance it could result in that.

And so while the reader might sometimes be frustrated by his obstinance, the reader also completely understands why it’s there, and this makes him a lot more sympathetic than he would be otherwise.

The fey characters merit a mention, too, for while they are the creatures of fairy tales, they’re not the nice Victorian ones. These fey are straight out of folklore, manipulative with their own codes of etiquette and honor, and while these characters are likable – and essential, in that they force Eli to join his own story – they pose threats to his well-being just as often as they offer boons, and are as much responsible for the story’s tension as they are its victories.

If I were to complain about anything in this book, it’s that there are enough typographical errors to notice, but they read more like the uncaught artifacts of dictation software than lack of skill, and they weren’t distracting enough to detract from the story. (And honestly the only reason I’m mentioning this is because I feel like I should have at least one negative thing to say in this review, lest it read like the unbalanced gushing of an unabashed fangirl. Plus, given the rest of the review, it’s not like the author’s skill is in question.)

In short, read this book. Urban fantasy readers will find a vividly realized world with all the magical quirks and suspense that they know and love, while non-fantasy readers will find an unexpectedly earnest look at the practical struggles of homeless life. Discarded is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year, and absolutely recommended.

***

Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Action, action adventure, adventure, discarded, dumpstermancer, fairies, Fantasy, fey, homeless, homelessness, Magic, Michael J. Allen, Urban Fantasy

Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Beginnings – Book Review

October 11, 2020 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Um, bookish library wizards, snarky witch dudes, and talking cats? Sign me up!

Actually, the talking cat doesn’t show up until Book 2, but that’s all the more reason to read Book 1 – to get to Book 2 faster. Of course, there are plenty of other reasons, too. 😉

In Lydia Sherrer’s Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Beginnings (The Lily Singer Adventures #1), Lily Singer is a no-nonsense wizard—yes, wizard—who would rather spend time in the secret magical library archives under Agnes Scott College than getting up to any actual adventures. Unfortunately for her, her friend Sebastian Blackwell is a witch—yes, witch—who is, if not all nonsense, at least nonsense enough to elicit frequent eye-rolls from Lily while still roping her into his latest magical misadventure.

Beginnings chronicles three such adventures which, though written like a collection of novellas more so than a singular novel, thread together to provide fun, fascinating looks at these two characters and their world. The plots are eclectic and often unpredictable—one an emotionally complicated ghost story, another a dangerous gang-related conflict (but still mostly clean enough to stay within the realm of a cozy read), and the last a heart-wrenching tale of mysterious time loops and dangerous family heirlooms.

Lily and Sebastian’s interactions, however, are the essential glue that holds the plots together. The two are polar opposite character types—Lily serious and pedantic to a fault, Sebastian the carefree, infuriating charmer—but their strengths and flaws balance each other out in such a way that they read like an inseparable pair that will probably end up married through the paradoxical unifying power of amused exasperation. Each character hides their own secrets and struggles, too, though. Lily is perpetually bothered by how much of her family’s wizard history was—and still is—hidden from her, and despite his relaxed, appealing demeanor, Sebastian is estranged from his magical family for reasons that aren’t immediately clear to Lily. The mysteries surrounding these characters alone are enough to make me curious to read more of the series.

The magic systems involved are equally intriguing, as Lily and Sebastian use two distinct forms of magic, and they complement each other in unexpected ways.

The magic that defines Lily’s wizardry is derived from a source known, pragmatically, as the Source, and isn’t cast so much as carefully wrangled through clever combinations of runes, artifacts, the user’s will, and a magical ancient language known as Enkinem. Wizard magic itself is likely one of the reasons why Lily is so strict and scholarly; it’s not magic that can be flung about carelessly. It’s magic that has to be studied and meticulously implemented, lest its effects go horribly wrong.

Sebastian’s witchery, meanwhile, derives from the fact that he can see and interact with fey and, more specifically, knows how to trade with them to earn their magical favor. It’s magic that requires charisma, which in turn is one of the reasons why he’s such a mischievous, charismatic character himself. His magical survival requires it. Additionally, when he comes to Lily for help, it’s not only to pester her (though that’s one reason); it’s because her particular type of magic is better suited to certain challenges than his, simply because of the structural differences between the two.

(The magic systems aren’t gendered, by the way, as the book emphasizes early on. Wizards study; witches make deals with the fey; and those are the only relevant separations.)

In short, the complexities of these magic systems are one of the coolest parts of the book, but ultimately it’s a book that hinges on the amusing interplay between its two leads and the surprising complexities of even its minor characters. If you’re looking for a for a cozy, sassy fantasy that puts the smart in smart aleck, Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Beginnings is a good place to start. 😄

***

Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: cozy fantasy, Fantasy, fantasy mystery, librarian, librarians, Love Lies and Hocus Pocus, lydia sherrer, Magic, Mystery, Talking Animals, talking cats, the lily singer adventures, Witches, wizards

The Kidnap Plot – Book Review

October 4, 2020 by hpholo Leave a Comment

One of the benefits of having an overwhelmingly huge and ever-growing book pile is that sometimes, when you get bored, you can just dig to the bottom to see what’s been hiding there, and sometimes, you find little treasures you’d completely forgotten about.

This is one of those.

I happened upon Dave Butler’s The Kidnap Plot (The Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie #1) several years ago after a particularly memorable LibertyCon panel which was supposed to be about The Best New YA Books…but, given that none of us had actually read any new YA books that year, ended up being about awesome YA in general (and also ended up being one of the most fun panels at that convention). This has nothing to do with the book, except that fellow panelist Butler was giving out copies at the end, and like heck am I gonna turn down any free steampunk reading, especially when the cover is as adorable as this:

Plus, in the con-less semi-apocalyptic landscape that is 2020, it’s nice to reflect on con memories, and that panel was one of my favorites.

The London of The Kidnap Plot is one soaked in steam and coated in grease, where airships dominate the sky and beneath them live overlapping cultures of humans, pixies, trolls, kobolds, shape-changers…and Charlie Pondicherry and his Bap. Charlie’s father runs Pondicherry’s Clockwork Invention and Repair, and never allows Charlie to venture far from it. But when his Bap is kidnapped by the aptly-named Sinister Man and his cronies, Charlie will have to venture further than he’s ever gone to rescue him–and in doing so, uncovers a plot that threatens Queen Victoria herself.

If you’re in the mood for a charming middle grade steampunk adventure with a whimsical storybook quality, The Kidnap Plot is it. Though some elements toward the end might seem overly familiar to anyone who consumes lots of steampunk, the characters that surround those elements are fun enough that I didn’t care (and frankly made me want to re-read/watch the stories it reminded me of, so win-win).

It’s the unfamiliar parts that make the book shine, anyway. Charlie’s is a setting where educated trolls can be lawyers, pixie duchesses-to-be can be their assistants, and kobolds help out in inventing shops. The aforementioned Grim Grumblesson, Natalie De Minimis, and Henry Clockswain join the ambitious chimney sweeps/potential aeronauts Oliver Chattelsworthy and Heaven-Bound Bob to shape the eclectic party that helps Charlie recover his dad. (Special second mention for Heaven-Bound Bob because I think his name is extra-fun to say.) It’s a large cast for such a comparatively simplistic rescue story, but the characters play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses with panache in such a way that much of the fun of the novel is not in seeing the characters succeed, but wondering what clever, audacious things they’ll have to do to get out of their absurd situations, which often have no obvious solution.

More than once, I actually started thinking of these twists and turns in terms of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, since so many of their challenges are complicated by the fact that one of them is super tiny, one is a big ol’ troll, and other such race-specific details. I doubt that was the author’s intent, but frankly now that I think of it, I’m totally down for a Clockwork Charlie RPG.

All in all, rip-roaring adventure and fun characters make The Kidnap Plot a delightful, exciting read. If you like whimsical steampunk stories, give it a try!

***

Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: airships, clockwork, clockwork charlie, dave butler, dj butler, Fantasy, fantasy adventure, gaslamp fantasy, kobolds, London, Middle Grade, pixies, shape-changers, Steampunk, the extraordinary journeys of clockwork charlie, the kidnap plot, trolls

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