Reviewed by Vicki
SERIES REVIEW: Brandywine Investigations
AUTHOR: Angel Martinez
PUBLISHER: Amber Allure for #1 & #3
BOOK ONE TITLE: Canines, Crosshairs, and Corpses
LENGTH: 183 pages
BLURB:
What’s a Lord of the Dead to do? Hades’ bride of several thousand years has served him with divorce papers and she doesn’t just want him out of her life, she wants the palace and the dog, too. Hades’ nephews and his faithful ferryman, Charon, are determined to find their uncle something to distract him before he expires of brooding misery.
Tiberius Snyder had a good future, until his mother dies and his employer shuts down. When he finds himself alone with nowhere to live, he turns to panhandling and to drink, depression slowly killing him.
He just wants a place to sleep out of the cold wind, but Death finds him in a dirty alley. Odd. Ti never thought Death would be so hot…
REVIEW:
Every time I read a book by Angel Martinez I am amazed by her creativity. Each book I read I think is the most creative thing she’s done. Then I read another book and bam! That’s the most unique one!
I have seen the Brandywine Investigations books around, but haven’t had a chance to experience them yet. I saw the third one releasing a few weeks ago, and thought it was time! In the first book in the series, Canines, Crosshairs and Corpses, Angel gives us a story about Greek gods and goddesses living in our modern world. Huh. How can that work? You’d be surprised….
Hades has been kicked out of his palace in the underworld by Persephone, she’s divorcing him and kept his dog. Hades goes on a bender and ends up being found by his nephews Hermes, Orpheus, and Dionysus getting his drink on in a dive bar. They find him with the divorce papers, and help him home to bed until they can decide what to do with him the next morning. In the morning, Hermes takes him to see Hestia for a little assistance. Hestia suggests that he find something to take his mind off the situation, and a new place to live. Between Dio, Hermes, and Charon they help him get settled in Wilmington Delaware, and get started with a business. Brandywine Investigations!
Tiberius Snyder has had a rough time. He’s truly at the bottom and has no where to go. All he wants is a corner to sleep in, which he finds, but is startled awake when a man is murdered right in front of him. To make matters even stranger, two scary men show up and grab him! He wakes up to find himself not dead, as he suspected he might be, and on a comfy couch! Then he sees Death, or Hades as it turns out to be.
This gets us to our romance, with a nice side of murder mystery. What an odd combination that works oh so well. Hades, the God of the Underworld, and the homeless, alcoholic, wreck of a man, with a sweet heart, Tiberius. Throw in Charon the boatman, and a goofy puppy named Nike and we have a wonderful story. The plot was interesting with the little bit of mystery, and the developing love between Hades and Ti was just perfect. Charon was such a great addition, at times threatening, at other times caring. There is a little drama, a little angst, a little sex, a little humor, just enough of everything to make it interesting.
Part of me wants to give this book five stars, it is an Angel Martinez book and I loved it. But when I think over her other books that I have read and given five stars to, this one is not quiiiiiite there. I did love it, but did I love it as much as Gravitational Attraction? Or the Endangered Fae books? Or the new AURA books? I can’t say that. This is a fantastic shorter story, with interesting characters and a unique story. If you have liked Angel’s other books, you’ll like this one. If you haven’t read one of hers, this would be a good one to start with.
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BOOK TWO TITLE: No Enemy But Time
LENGTH: 62 pages
BLURB:
Zagreus (Zack), the son of Hades, and his former guardian angel, Michael, live a quiet life of gardening, animal rescue, and playful sexual experimentation. They have a house near the beach, family close by and each other. This should be the happily ever after of every god’s dreams.
But lately, strange misgivings have plagued Zack, a sense of something dark and powerful approaching. Since he can’t pin down a source, he dismisses his instincts. Why borrow trouble? That is, until Michael begins to have strange mood swings and a dark stranger appears in the garden one night. Zack will need to battle time itself or lose both his hard-won peace and the love of his immortal life.
REVIEW:
Oh…. I have read a bunch of the various Goodreads stories starting with a photo and a prompt. Some are not great, some are good, and a few are great. This is one of the great ones. Dark and bittersweet…
With No Enemy But Time, we see the dark side of this Greek myth infused world. Zack, the son of Hades, lives in a small home with Michael, a fallen angel. Their story began 25 years ago, and we really don’t get much about it, other than a few memories. Their lives have been perfect since though, living in their house, Michael with a lovely garden, and Zack helping with wild bird conservation. Zack begins to notice some personality changes in Michael but has no idea what is happening with him. Michael is aware he’s been feeling odd, but also isn’t sure why. Unfortunately they wait to long to get help and bad shit goes down.
I’ll stop with the plot there, this is a short book and I don’t want to give too much away. I’ll just add that Bad Things happen, and we see Hades and Ti, plus a few of the other gods, all coming together as a family to fight for Zack and Michael. I loved the inclusion of the other characters, but also liked Zack’s desire to fight his own battle. He nows when to be alone, and when to accept help. These isn’t a lot of sex in this story, one nice scene with a bit of toy play tossed in, but it’s not about that. There is a deep emotional bond between Zack and Michael, and that is the only thing that saves them. The ending is just a little bittersweet…. and worked so very well for this story.
I have said it before about Angel’s UF books, she is a master at world building. This series is just another example of her mastery. Damn, her brain is a strange and wonderful place. The mixing of myth and reality is seamless. I am amazed at the amount of effort she puts in to a simple little free story is amazing.
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BOOK THREE TITLE: Dragons, Diamonds, and Discord
LENGTH: 150 pages
BLURB:
The most valuable pieces of jewelry are vanishing from the god Hermes’ Manhattan stores and the security feeds pick up only clouds of smoke. While the god of thieves, messengers, and commerce doesn’t appreciate someone stealing from him, he’s intrigued by this thief’s ingenuity and skill. When Hermes enlists his family to trap his burglar, he gets the surprise of his immortal life.
Fafnir just wants to be left alone. Doomed over the centuries to a never-ending cycle of violent death and painful rebirth, he had hoped to find an escape in the quiet life of author and illustrator. But there are forces at work he doesn’t understand, and his peace is shattered by the return to old cycles and the sudden interference of a beautiful and incredibly irritating Greek god.
REVIEW:
Ah! A dragon! Hermes! New York City! Oh yah…..
We’ve seen Hermes in the last two books, he’s a bit flaky, but a sweetheart. I was hoping he’d get his own story, and here it is! Hermes has his fingers in several pies in the business world of NYC, one of his enterprises is owning a few jewelry stores. Unfortunately he has been robbed! By smoke, going by the videos he has seen. He gets his family to have a look, and they decide to stake out his store most likely to get robbed next. They are more than surprised to discover who has stolen from Hermes! They spring their trap and still manage to lose their culprit, just by his size alone. It’s a big lovely dragon! They track the dragon to his home, and now need a plan.
With the help of his crazy clan, Hermes figures out who the dragon is, and a way to get in to his home to snoop. He determines that Fafnir, the dragon, is being manipulated by someone to go in to a cycle of hoarding that ultimately ends in his death. Fafnir is a stubborn, frustrating man/dragon, and right up Hermes alley. He’s lusts after Fafnir as soon as he sees him, but the interest is not at all returned. Or so he thinks! It takes some work, but they get there…
So, fantastic plot, lots of new characters, the blending of myths, involvement of other characters from the other books, some action, some “action” (wink wink), and a great ending. I really liked the first two stories, and this one is even better! I love Fafnir and Hermes, together they are quite the pair. The couple of sex scenes were oh so hot, the snarky banter between them was fun, and the bond that forms as their trust builds was perfect. And Michael…. sigh. I’m so happy he had a part to play in this story.
Loved it! If you have read the others, you’ve got to read this one! If you haven’t you need to go read them all. So fun!
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OVERALL REVIEW:
This is just a fantastic series. They are on the short side, not THAT short, there is plenty of time to develop the characters and the world, but they aren’t full length novels. I read the three of them over a weekend. They are at times fun and light, then dark and bittersweet. I LOVED the characters and the creative blending of modern world with various gods and goddesses, it started out mostly Greek but that changed as the story progressed. A few Egyptians sneak in there… So yeah, read them, they are great! And it’s Angel Martinez, so they are awesome.
OVERALL RATING: (Should be 4.25 but we don’t have an image for that!)
[…] ruin this one. But I can tell you the other books are totally worth reading. I reviewed them here: Brandywine Investigations 1-3. The first two were good, but the third and fourth have been fantastic. I highly recommend them to […]