Book Review: DOSA Files: Tales from the SVR Universe, Volume 2 | HL Burke

DOSA Files: Tales from the SVR Universe, Volume 2 by H.L. Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another interesting return to the SVR universe!

I loved "Civic Duty" by Amber Gabriel, which showcases Elam Bentley, previously known as the Rubber Bandit, in his bid to go straight. However, leaving supervillainy also means doing jury duty...which turns out to be not as boring has he expected! (Gabriel has also just published Stretched Thin, a novella about Elam, which you should totally check out.)

"The Fluffy Guardian" by K.L. Miracle was a heart-warming read, about a sable deep undercover who's learning that maybe he's gotten it all wrong. Maybe he can be part of a family again.

"London Bridge is Falling Down" by C.O. Bonham follows Violet Revelt from Volume 1, and creates a super-involved family adventure.

"Cloudburst" by Talitha Renae Borstad is another heart-wrenching one, with two siblings trying to stay together despite their powers.

These are the four that I loved the most, but all the nine stories were great reads.


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Book Review: The Moonlit Maze | Zoë Marriott

The Moonlit Maze by Zoë Marriott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm beginning to think that timeslip novels are just not for me. In concept, it's cool, but for some reason, there's always something that leaves me not-quite-satisfied.

What's there not to love about this story? There's modern-day Juliet (Jude) Stewart inheriting a cottage in a cozy British village giving her enough money to turn her life around and a chance to catch her breath. There's young Lady Xanthe Kearsley in the 1920s torn between her betrothal to horrid cousin Jonathan (who will inherit all her father's possessions due to entailment) and wanting to live her life on her own terms.

Two separate, entrancing stories, connected by space (Winterthorne) and somehow bleeding through time. I should have loved it, but...

In Elaine Chiew's The Light Between Us, I felt I couldn't quite grasp how the two protagonists were connected by time travelling letters with a fancy mathematical theory, so I quite appreciated the simplicity of this connection through time - and even the lack of any solid explanation. There's a mystical quality to how Jude keeps dreaming of Xanthe, and how Xanthe catches glimpses of Jude at odd times.

There's enough in both timelines to keep me going - rooting for Jude as she tries to figure out her future and being angry on Xanthe's behalf because she's stuck in a society with little options. And Jonathan is a manipulative abuser being enabled by Xanthe's parents - there, I said it. You want to believe that Xanthe will overcome, that Jude will somehow find a way back in time to help her...

One little thing that really bothered me was the strange love triangle between Jude and the two men in Winterthorne, where for a moment it was like Jude HAD to fall in love with one or other of them because a woman cannot just be friends with a man!!! Marriott resolves this as part of the plot, but it was just very annoying while it was happening.

The ending itself - and its revelations - felt satisfying to me. Like yes I'm glad it resolved that way.

I want to say I loved this story. And yet... like I said, maybe I'm not configured to really enjoy timeslip stories, the same way time travel and multiverses give me a headache (looking at you, Avengers: Endgame).

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Headline via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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