Beattz

I received this book for free in a sponsored giveaway. These thoughts are my own, and I have not been compensated for them in any way.

I attend a once a month SFF book club that meets at my local library. It's new - last night was only our third assembly, so we're still getting people sharing what they like about scifi and fantasy, what drew them in, etc. There was an older lady that attended for the first time last night, who loves to read the OG classics. Loves the dense prose and all the beings that come standard - elves, orcs and the like. Throughout the evening as we chatted, cozy fantasies got brought up more than once. Towards the end of the meeting she blurt out "You guys keep talking about cozy fantasy! What does that mean? It doesn't make any sense!" And I guess I didn't realize until that moment the size of the space that has been made for a new sub-genre, in a place that's been largely unmoving and unchanging for years. And that's super neat.

But onto the cozy fantasy at hand! (Yes, I like to treat my book reviews like early 2000's recipe blog posts. Sue me.) This was fun! I didn't make the connection that this was the same author as The Teller of Small Fortunes, which has also been on my TBR and has now moved up. Really sweet story with lots of character growth, set in a seemingly familiar world where magic is at odds with politics. Super easy to read, and engaging - I made my way through it in just a couple of days. Next time you need a comfort read (and Baldree doesn't have a new release), pick this up and enjoy!

The Tainted Cup was one of my most anticipated reads this year. I'd heard such great things about it from so many people, and I'd been interested in Bennett's books for a while. Naturally, I went into it with very high expectations, and while I enjoyed it, it didn't quite live up to the hype for me.

There were some things I really loved about it. The world Bennett has created for these mysteries is a fascinating one - with floral contagions and aquatic behemoths that threaten the Empire's very existence. There's a cool blend of magic and technology, and the different sects of civil servants is really neat. There were some quotes in there that made me laugh, and some that made me think.

This is put forth as a Sherlockian type adventure, and I totally get that - you've got your main inspector, Ana, who has many of quirks and isms the famous literary hero displays (don't ask me why or how, but in my head, she was cast and played by Jane Lynch. Which made it very fun for me). And then we have our main character/narrator, Din, her not bumbling but very wet behind the ears assistant. He's been altered to have the ability to recall things flawlessly, which, when investigating and taking in the sights and details of a crime scene for an inspector who rarely takes off her blindfold, is a real boon.

The mystery itself was pretty interesting, gave us more information about the world and how it was set up as we uncovered more and more. And while I did not know the exact hows or whys of the conspiracy, I did figure the whos, and I think that's where part of my disappointment came in. And it took just a little too long to build up for me - and I know I'll get some push back there. It wasn't slow by any means, but for some reason, I never had to make myself put the book down, and that's what normally happens when I'm super engaged in a story.

All in all, quite good and entertaining, and I'll read the next one at some point, but it won't push anything off of my TBR.