Sovran’s Pawn by JC Cassels

Format: Kindle ebook
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewer: Elizabeth

Convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed, Bo Barron is the last person who should be infiltrating a Sub-socia weapons auction. But when her father is kidnapped and the ransom demand is the schematics to an experimental weapon, she has no choice but to go under cover with her uncle to get it. 

Nobody counted on former-government-agent-turned-holofeature-hero Blade Devon’s infatuation with her. A botched assassination under the guise of a bar brawl leaves Bo blind and Blade wondering if there isn’t more to this job than he was led to believe. 

Never able to resist playing the hero, Blade tends her injuries and delves deeper into the intrigue only to find this mission isn’t about a weapon at all. It’s about two Sovrans’ maneuvering for control, with Bo and Blade as their pawns. 

All Bo and Blade have to do is figure out how to survive the game they didn’t know they were playing. 

The catch is, no one and nothing are what they seem…

First of all, I never write reviews. I am one of those people that is way over-extended in life with really too much on their plate. In fact, this is the first review I have ever written on an Amazon purchase and I am probably one of their best customers. So in general when I take the time to sit down to actually write a review it is either because I thought the item was absolutely horrific or incredibly earth-shattering fantastic. This book is the later of the two.

If you are looking for a book that is going to help you get away from reality and immerse you into a new world of adventure and romance…this is the book for you. From the first chapter, the reader is involved in the prison escape of Bo Barron who has been wrongly convicted of treason and at the time is sitting in her cell awaiting execution. As the plot moves along in this book- Bo becomes an unwilling participant in one political intrigue after another all with unexpected and unpredictable twists and turns. Along the journey she also unexpectedly meets a mysterious man who is her match in both wits and character. Somehow this overly head-strong and independent heroine manages to meet her hero or is this mysterious man really her nemeses and the tool of her eventual downfall? On the surface this budding romance may appear sappy but rather I found the whole book entertaining and way too short. In reality this book possesses a lot of depth with layer upon layer of intrigue and suspense which on another level makes the reader reflect and analysis the characters and events.

Overall, this book is well written. It is full of non-stop action that actually does have a well-developed and for the most part a very unpredictable plot. As the book progresses the reader is introduced to characters that are real with just enough information that makes the reader want to come back for more which surprisingly only adds to the suspense of the plot. This book is a fast read and probably one of the most enjoyable books that I have read in a while. I am totally looking forward to the second book in this series.

Hero’s End by JC Cassels

Format: Kindle ebook
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewer: Amy

“Hero’s End” is the second book in JC Cassels’ “Blackwing Chronicles.”  For my review of the first book, “Sovran’s Pawn”, please go here. Cassels can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

Over-all rating: 4 stars

“Hero’s End” is a better book, both stylistically and story-wise, than “Sovran’s Pawn“.  The characters are alive with rich background details. Scenery is described in dramatic fashion but not to the point that a reader becomes bored with every descriptive nuance.  The story is well paced with a good blend of action and exposition. If you love the lush settings, blood-curdling action, and cliffhangers of George RR Martin’s “Game of Thrones” series, you will like this book.

Plot (no spoilers): 4stars

Blade Devon and Bo Barron are back to save the galaxy each other.  While there are certainly over-arcing political plotlines within “Hero’s End”, this is the story of Blade and Bo.  As the second in a series, the book does a good job of treading the fine line between re-telling the first book and plunging the reader into the action with no point of reference.  The first three chapters are a bit slower paced than the rest of the book, but still manage to draw you in.

This series of books is good, classic, space opera.  The plot is character driven and centered around the romance of the two protagonists. Don’t be misled, though.  This is not a sappy romance novel set in space. Cassels has created an entire galaxy full of competing star systems, power-plays, holo-feature starlets, and mystical wisemen.

There’s more mysticism in this story than in the prior book.  I always have to give myself a good mental shake when there’s talk of telepathy.  Yes mind reading is all very sci-fi, but the book does take place on spaceships and alien planets.

Formatting: 3 stars

I’m still an ebook snob, so I’m not going to over-look the lack of a working Table of Contents or chapter hyperlinks.

Final thoughts:

I stayed up until 4am to finish “Hero’s End”. Be warned, it ends in a cliffhanger that is so wrenching as to make me curse aloud.  Fans of space opera will not want to miss this book.