Removing the Mask: A Review of Chaos Reigning, by Jessie Mihalik

There are times when you pick up a book expecting to be surprised.  You look forward to twists and turns to keep you on your toes.  Insurmountable odds that the main characters must struggle to overcome, coupled with prose posing philosophical debates about the characters actions.  These are books that are meant to bring you out of your comfort zone.  However, especially in this day and age, we could use a bit of comfort.  Jessie Mihalik’s Consortium Rebellion trilogy, culminating in Chaos Reigning, is the comfort food of science-fiction.  You go into the third novel knowing what you want and what you expect from this series.  A cool heroine who learns to embrace her abilities and find her confidence, a steamy romance with a considerate and strong man, and a healthy dose of sci-fi adventure.

One Flesh, One End: A Review of Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir

There are no other books quite like Harrow the Ninth.  The second novel in Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb trilogy following Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth seemingly follows the conventions of a sequel while consistently turning things on their heads at every opportunity.  As the second story in a trilogy, audiences come in with a certain expectation.  Where the first book is meant to set up the characters and the overarching plot, it still ends in an apparent victory.  The second book need to expand the world, introduce new mysteries, and provide a lead-up to the third and final chapter.  Harrow the Ninth does do this, but not in any expected way.  Instead, it creates a mood piece focusing intimately on our main heroine as she navigates a wholly unfamiliar world out to destroy her at every turn.  Many questions are asked, some are answered, but Muir never loses sight of the story she wants to tell.