When two high school seniors break up accidentally, the entire school is thrown into mayhem. A single rumor that’s… err, well… almost true takes on a life of its own until half the school won’t even speak to the other half, the teachers are all taking sides, and two of the most responsible students in the district are kicking up more trouble in a single week (without even trying) than most people manage in a lifetime.
Harriet Walsh was destined to serve on the Peace Force. She’s been receiving invitations to join up since she was only 15 years old… she just doesn’t know it—mostly because they’ve been printed on the backs of takeout menus and advertising pamphlets by an obsolete robot. When her beloved aunt passes away, leaving behind a broken heart and a pile of debt, Harriet finally gets her mail. Serving on the Peace Force isn’t exactly her passion, but jobs are scarce and she needs the cash. Besides, Dismolle is a retirement planet. How bad could it be?
Well, she’s about to find out. Training isn’t easy when nobody outranks the antique-bucket-of-bolts robot that was left running the show, especially when it has to recharge more often than a five-year-old iPhone. Add a training weapon she’s not allowed to train with, a police budget funded by a lottery scam, and an AI cop car that likes long walks on the beach, and Harriet is in for one miserable Peace Force experience.
Continue reading “Another fun sci-fi slump buster from the mind of Simon Haynes!”
The Chronicle of Heloise & Grimple is a very particular kind of novel.
Specifically, it’s the kind of novel that looks perfectly innocent and adorable sitting there on the shelf, staring up at you with those huge, adoring eyes, until you actually bring it home—at which time it begins eating objects you would have thought entirely incapable of being eaten (not just inedible, mind you, but literally incapable of being eaten), fetching things like boots or garden hoses that you’re reasonably certain have never belonged to you, and engaging in other, similar antics that you really shouldn’t laugh at but you just can’t help yourself because where the hell did it find an unopened gallon of peanut butter and how did it even manage to pick the thing up, let alone carry it back home?
Oh, wait. No, that’s our dog. We got confused for a minute because they’re both so funny, but we’ve got it straightened back out now. (While there are certain aspects of the two, meaning the book and the dog, that might cause you, at least at first blush, to mistake the one for the other, there is a simple yet definitive way to distinguish them, which is that we would never give our dog a 5-star review.)
Don’t judge. You don’t live with him.
This post is our gift to you. If you’ve never read this edition of this book, follow your favorite link to the free sample, and read the introduction. Not only will it be one of the funniest introductions you’ve ever read, but by the time you’re done, you won’t be sure anymore whether Florin is a real place or S. Morgenstern was a real person.
It isn’t, and he wasn’t. The publisher blurb says so. And we Googled it, too, because we still weren’t sure. So now we’re sure that it isn’t, and that he wasn’t. Mostly.
You’ll see.
In any event, no collection of fantasy romcom titles would be complete without it. (Our thanks to @ivythesorceress for the reminder, with more reader favorites coming soon!)
Continue reading “The definitive fantasy romcom! (And a tip to make you laugh today.)”
Has anyone else noticed that a lot of fantasy romcoms have covers that don’t imply any humor? They just look like regular romance novels. (A.k.a. naked male torso covers. NMT covers? Sure, let’s go with that.) In fact, they often don’t suggest any fantasy element either. But it’s the fantasy and the humor combined with the romance that makes them so special! What gives?
Here’s one that manages to get both the humor and the romance across visually, so I’m adding it to our new fantasy romcom tag. (It’s already shaping up to be a pretty sweet blog section!) But, hey, maybe I’m in the minority here. Which do you like better? This kind of illustrated, humorous cover for a fantasy romcom? Or a classic NMT cover? Which one would you be more likely to pick up? Which one does a better job of delivering on the “promise” that the cover makes about the read?
