Shadows of Asphodel (Shadows of Asphodel, #1)

by Karen Kincy

She never asked for the undying loyalty of a necromancer. 

1913. Austria-Hungary. Ardis knows better than to save a man on the battlefield. Even if he manages to be a charming bastard while bleeding out in the snow. She hasn't survived this long as a mercenary without some common sense. 

When she rescues Wendel, it isn't because he's devilishly handsome, but because he's a necromancer. His touch can revive the dead, and Ardis worries he will return from the grave to hunt her down. Besides, a necromancer can be useful in this world on the brink of war. 

A gentleman of questionable morals, Wendel drops to one knee and pledges his undying loyalty to Ardis. She resists falling for him, no matter how hot the tension smolders between them. Especially when she discovers Wendel's scars run much deeper than his skin, and it might be too late to truly save him from himself.

• ISBN10: 1620078708
• ISBN13: 9781620078709
• Publish Date: 11 May 2015 (first published 13 September 2013)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Curiosity Quills Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 340
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

Back in August of 2015, I read Clockwork Menagerie, a Shadows of Asphodel novella. I was enchanted with Karen Kincy’s writing and steaminess of the love story presented in just a few short pages. I immediately got my hands on the two novels in the series and then left them on my virtual bookshelf until #COYER Blackout.

After finishing book one, Shadows of Asphodel, I immediately asked myself, “Why the hell did I wait so long to read this?!” This alternate WWI history with mechs and magic is right up my alley and reminded me of a grown up version of the Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld.

I grew to love Ardis, the main female protagonist, and her independent ways and ideas. Her relationship with Wendel (what a delightfully unusual name!) is hot and steamy and doesn’t require any commitment. It is a refreshing change of pace and one I quite enjoyed.

However, by the end of book two, Storms of Lazarus I was cursing Kincy and the dramatic uncharacteristic change that happens between the two characters. This change, due to my own personal life choices, made me angry. And as a reader, the change upset me because it seems to go against EVERYTHING that Ardis and Wendel thought and said to that point.

Overall, between books one and two, I enjoyed the action and intrigue with the alternate historical fiction twist. But the two characters, whom I admired the most and were the main reason I kept reading, quickly became characters that I disliked partway into book two. In the end, I wasn’t happy with the series at all.
This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews

[Berls]

This review originally appeared on Fantasy is More Fun.

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

My Initial Reaction...

I really loved the characters in Shadows of Asphodel and the story was unique. Some elements dragged a bit for me, but overall I really enjoyed it.

The Narration...

The narration for Shadows of Asphodel was strong, in my opinion. Jodie Bentley had unique voices and most her male voices came off satisfactorily masculine. I'd definitely listen to another book with her narrating. I hope Jodie Bentley will narrate the next book in the series, so I can continue listening to it!

The Characters...

Ardis was great! She's a mercenary, but she works for the ArchMages, which makes her work acceptable (to some) and a bit more than an assassin. But that doesn't make her non-controversial, which I totally loved. For one, Ardis is running from a difficult past - her mother was a single, Chinese courtesan. Her father is a giant question mark - all she has of his is her sword, Chung Yi (No idea if I'm spelling it right, #audiobookproblems) and a memory of a man with an eagle tattoo. Ardis really reminded me a lot of my favorite UF heroines - fierce and independent - so it's no surprise that I took to her immediately.

I had mixed feelings about Wendel from start to finish, though. I mean, he's a necromancer! How cool is that? Why don't more books have necromancers?!? His powers are hard-core awesome and he says some of the sweetest and most poetic things. But he's incredibly flawed (which makes me like the book more, even if I'm not in love with him). Some of that is his past - being a necromancer is not a good thing (I know, I would have thought it was cool too!) so he's had a bit of a difficult history. And some of it is just that he's annoyingly secretive and selfish. Yeah, sure he's mostly good to Ardis. But you never lose that sense that he's looking out for himself above all else and at all costs.

Another character we see a decent amount of was Constantine. Like Wendel, I'm really back and forth with him. At first, I did not like him at all. But as his character developed, I found him to be very much the nerdy, professor sort. He's a technomancer (again, totally cool!) and that means he's really into his gadgets. Sometimes I think he let his science take priority over people, but I think his heart is in the right place. One development made me feel particularly sorry for him, and softie that I am, I left the book liking him. But we'll see how his character develops.

The Story...

I really liked the story for Shadows of Asphodel. The world was really too cool - it combined familiar elements from 1913 with an alternate past where magic is a very real thing. I'm excited to see how the events that led to WWI in real life will develop over the course of this series. We've already seen some familiar historical events and tensions between the nations develop in Shadows of Asphodel along a slightly alternate, yet very familiar, path.

Shadows of Asphodel is my first ever Dieselpunk read and I'm not even sure that's an official genre, but what the hey, it works for me! Basically I think it's steam punk, except that the gadgets are fueled by diesel and not steam. And those gadgets were too cool! You've got everything from airships to automatons! I loved the way technology and magic worked together throughout Shadows of Asphodel, too. Things we sort of recognize took on a whole new life with the added element of magic.

I loved the little details too. We get constant (but not overbearing) reminders that everyone is not speaking English - because we're in Europe. Mostly it's German, which in itself adds an exciting element to the potential arch of the series. The view of Americans (like Ardis) is appropriate to the time. Heck, when things get steamy between Ardis and Wendel there's even mention of "preventatives" rather than condoms. Great attention to detail!

The romance between Ardis & Wendel was a bit off for me. It was basically insta-love, something I'm rarely a fan of. What bothered me was that they're throwing the L word around but not even acting like they're really in love. So why not call it what it is? Lust with strong friendly feelings? Lust is definitely the right L-word to use because these two are rabbits! I'd almost call this a PNR - at least that's how I'd rate the amount of & graphicness of the sexual interaction ;)

The only other thing I'd say is that I definitely drifted at points. The story has a lot of elements and some of them took me too far away from the main story line and I got a bit distracted. I can't put my finger on anything specific, but I know my mind wandered a bit. And when that happens and I don't feel like I missed anything, it probably wasn't necessary.

Concluding Sentiments...

I'm really glad Tiffany @ A Tiffyfit's Reading Corner connected me with this series. I love the world and the characters and can't wait for the next book to come to audio!

[Romance Schmomance]

First of all, Washington represent (I was raised in Olympia)! Okay onto the book ... let me begin with that the only thing I know about 'dieselpunk' is that I love the clothes! Hell yeah I would walk around in all of those on a daily basis if I could. Other than that, that's all I know about this genre. If you couldn't tell already, this was a first for me this specific genre and I enjoyed every moment of it. There was quite a bit of lingo that I didn't know (my bad), so I kept asking my husband what everything was. Needless to say, I was very fascinated!

Ardis - B-A-D-A-S-S ... need I say more. She's a mercenary and her sword's name is Chun Yi, you already know when a sword is named, it can do damage. And Ardis can definitely take down people with Chun Yi by her side. Her motto is kill or be killed. And all of that changes when she meets the sarcastic, cocky and mysterious Wendel, who just happens to be a necromancer. As she found him on the battlefield nearly dead, we witness her softer side, she does what she can so he won't die. And it's not long after that, that Wendel is down on one-knee swearing fealty to hear until the debt is repaid.

Their love happened rather quickly, but I can't say that I minded too much because I wanted it to happen. It doesn't take Ardis much time at all to really care for him and we see that right from the beginning (as much as she tries to deny it). And you witness how much of a foreign territory it is for her, definitely more for Wendel because it's something he's not use to - someone that wants to be around him. I love them together, they're both very strong, and not just physically, but emotionally.

The story kept me hooked the entire time, quite a bit of twists, plenty of action (and not just fighting ones), actually would have loved more steamy scenes, cause they're just wellll .... I'll keep that to myself.

Well, I love this genre and I love this book! This is a first in the series, so I'm pretty curious to see what she has in store for the next one because this one didn't seem open-ended at all. I want more, I want more.

Side note: if you have any suggestions for the dieselpunk, please comment below. I want to read more!

ROMANCE SCHMOMANCE BOOK REVIEWS

❥ BLOG

❥ FACEBOOK

❥ TWITTER