When I was first introduced to this series, I picked it up on a whim. I didn’t know what to think, and I definitely never imagined it was going to be one of my favorite series of the year. But the author wields dark humor like an epic hero wields a sword.

About the Book

Be careful what you wish for.

Or at least Miriam should, now that she suddenly gets the opportunity to do just that. But Miriam is in a rush after a rough encounter with a dragon which left both dead and missing persons. She wishes to get to the bottom of the treason and expose the culprits before it is too late, which leads her out into the blue.

Literally.

With a lot of oceanic ice, Miriam and her ragtag band is hurled against new opponents: some lurking in the shadows, others charging them head on. There is even one who wants Miriam’s wishes to come true.

But Miriam never wished for a dragon. Not intentionally anyway.

My Thoughts

I never imagined I would love a character called Crazyjones or Shithead (pronounced Sheethead, thank you very much) quite so very much. Or feel quite so terrified of a tiny little 8-year-old boy. Though, I don’t know. Maybe I should have seen that one coming with all the fuss horror movies have made.

I will admit, this book – the third of six (I think) – has a few slow spots action-wise. This isn’t uncommon in the middle of a series because there has to be some character and world-building, and sometimes, the middle of stories gets a little draggy. But I personally don’t mind it because it is still chock-full of the humor and relationships that make me love the story. I’m less of an action person anyway. Just know that’s more subtle in this one if that’s your jam.

I love Miriam, Crazyjones, Raithea, and Gorth so much! Their group dynamic is so cute! And some really interesting things happen in this one that I don’t want to spoil, including some new characters that I personally enjoyed. If you’re a frequent reader, you’ll know I never think books are standalone. However, the way this one works, I really don’t think this one works as a standalone because it references scenes from the first two books without much background. If I hadn’t read the first two, I feel like I would have been super lost. But they’re both amazing, and you can read my reviews of those somewhere below or at my #linkinbio.

I’m so grateful to the author and Love Books Tours for including me in this tour and I absolutely cannot wait to read the next one.

Who’s It For?

If you love dark humor, adventure, fantasy, and stories of the undead, you’ll love this story (and the whole series, in my opinion). I never think books are standalones, but I especially don’t think this one is. I feel like if I hadn’t read the first two, I wouldn’t have had any idea what was going on. They referenced things from the first two with very little explanation. But others might have had differing opinions. If you’re not a big reader, but you love fantasy/adventure movies or games like Dungeons and Dragons or other RPGs, I also really think you’d enjoy this. It kinda has the feel of a really good campaign with a group of fun players!

Content Warnings: Adult situations, Adult language, Murder, Death, Suicide, Fear, Dark Humour

About the Author

Everybody makes a story about themselves. Here is my take:

I started out

1) as a kid telling myself stories using my imagination, then

2) growing up to tell stories to others as a gamemaster (which I still do), then

3) getting sucked most unwilling into occult stuff (the flip side of quantum physics?), escaping that to

4) hesitantly get an education in programming, then

5) surviving dull years surrounded by the machines that go ping and keeping the weekends occupied by reading and being artful and conjuring exhaustion for the work week, then

6) saying enough is enough and submitting myself to another long streak of education, this time in art, where I started out painting (and still do) but graduated in spontaneous storytelling (or bearing witness to my imaginary worlds if you want a fancy way of saying it) then

7) start writing down these stories instead of telling them to an audience, ending up like

1) the kid I began as, telling myself stories using my imagination…

…which is the nation I prefer to be in (after doing my stint of travelling abroad) and where I go by the name of Astor Y Teller.

The rest of me can be gleaned from the books and if not, it’s not worth telling.

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