Review: Battle of Will by Sasha L. Miller

Reviewed by Fehu
Battle of Will by Sasha L. Miller
Less Than 3 Press
Novel
4.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
At a memorial service meant to honor the dead and mark the beginning of a truce between Skirfall and Morcia, Ackley spies a figure who does not belong—a mage interrogator whose presence will only cause harm should the Morcians realize who he is and all the people he has tortured. But the problem rapidly grows much worse than that when Ackley realizes his true purpose is assassination of the Morcian crown prince—an assassination Ackley prevents, but at great cost.

Banished from his own country, bound magically to the crown prince of his enemies, Ackley is certain of just one thing: whether he can figure out how to break the spell or not, his death is assured.

Note: This story is part of LT3's Serial Fiction line

Short Review
This story has a lot of action and not the one in bed. I really enjoyed seeing how two enemies have become friends and slowly progressed to lovers. Battle of Will is a great fantasy story first and it just happens to have two male protagonists. There is a great plot with danger, magic, treason and treachery.

Ackley was a bodyguard to a prince before he was banished and unwillingly has become bound to another. I liked Ackley, how he didn't behave differently just because he was with a prince and talked back. He didn't just roll over or let the prince do as he pleases. Actually the mentioned prince wasn't bad either, he was not a selfish prat and actually did realise his feelings for Ackley before it was too late.

The plots against them, there quite interesting and I really enjoyed the mystery of discovering the traitor. Here also lies my only complaint or a reason for a sequel: A traitor was a big deal and he made a lot of things happen, I find it a bit unbelievable, that it was just this one person and that there were not more people involved. The matter was dropped and not mentioned again and considering how long it took them to find the one who murdered a king, well the matter was solved too easy in the end.

Otherwise I loved this book; it had great characters, an interesting plot and some pretty good writing.

4.5 Pants Off

Review: Drinker Class X by Sasha L. Miller

Reviewed by SinChan
Drinker Class X (Proud to be A Vampire) by Sasha L. Miller
Less Than 3 Press
Novella
4 Pants Off (Rounded Up)

Blurb
Bitten on the job, Laurence is left to readjust to living as one of the drinkers he has always hunted. In order to be declared a stable citizen—and get back to work—he must attend a series of court-mandated sessions with a psychiatrist specializing in newly-turned drinkers.

The worst part of being a drinker, besides adjusting to life without sunlight, is that it's mostly doctors and red tape and tedium—right up until it isn't.



Review
I love the set up of the story. Vampires are now called drinkers and they are highly regulated through hospitals, blood centers, and a police force specialized in handling rogue drinkers, or Class X drinkers. Laurence is part of this police force and is bitten by a Class X on the job. In order to readjust and get his job back, he needs the psychiatrist, Ira, to give him a Class A rating, meaning he can handle high stress situations. They are interested in each other and when their professional relationship as doctor and patient is over, they plan to go on dates. Unluckily, Ira disappears without a trace.

Laurence is struggling with his new status as drinker and trying not to be depressed. He's very easy to sympathize with. His whole life changed when he got bitten and now he has to see a psych, which no one wants to do. Nevertheless, he has a strong, healthy mentality and a let's-get-it-over-with personality. He's calm and optimistic, which balances with Ira's over-analyzing personality.

One thing that confused me is the dress code, and by relation, the time period. The dress style for the main characters and the side characters are described in detail. It seems like some kind of Victorian style is preferred, however, they live in an age where hospitals can analyze blood protein levels and do brain scans.

When Ira gets kidnapped, that's the start of a thrilling mystery. Laurence gets thrown in with Ira in a locked room with kidnappers that's planning torture them. Combined with a morbid back story, I can't stop reading or tear my eyes away from the pages. Although one thing that can be clearer is the reason behind the murders, but that doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the story.

Ira and Laurence are not totally in love with each other yet but they have a budding relationship. Their ordeal together builds trust and lays a good foundation for future friendship or love. The author really succeeds in writing a vampire story that's different and describes the world in detail. I definitely recommend this book to vampire fans and someone who likes a little bit of thriller in their books.

4 Pants Off

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