SPFBO 10 Semi-Finalist Reveal: Timy

This year, we decided to mix things up a bit and we are not waiting to finish up with the Elimination Round to start having Semi-Finalist Reveals as well. You can just never know what’s going to happen in this Asylum. It’s my turn to bring our second SPFBO 10 Semi-Finalist Reveal! I will share my thoughts on my remaining 3 titles, and tell you if I picked a semi-finalist!

A bit about our process ICYMI. Each of us cuts 2 of our titles in the Elimination Round. During the Semi-Finalist Reveal, we look at our remaining titles and at the end of the post we announce our semi-finalist. Fair warning: not all of us might pick a semi-finalist. Once we are all done, we’ll be reading each others’ picks and reviewing those titles individually. Finally, we reveal our finalist in October.

We’d like to thank each and every author who submitted their book to SPFBO this year. We know how hard it must be, but sadly, we can’t forward all of you to the finals. As a reminder, you can check out our SPFBO 10 page to see how we allocated our books and follow our progress.

In the Elimination Round, I said goodbye to two titles: They Left Magic in Their Wake by Marilyn Peake and The Call of the Valkyries by T J Mayhew (full Elimination Round post here). Below are my thoughts about the rest of my batch, in alphabetical order:

Temper the Dark by L. Ryan Storms

Servant girl Alaris Kahlanik finds out about her family’s gift the hard way when she discovers her ability to dreamwalk after being condemned to the Cells. With thoughts of escape, she uses her newfound ability to spy on the emperor and his secret search for something important. Nothing the emperor wants could possibly be good for the people he rules, and so whatever the emperor is looking for, Alaris must find first.

Throlani Guardsman Kagan Liis has served the Empire since Emperor Patuk’s reign began eight years ago. He can also communicate with a vicious oracle referred to only as the Darkness. When the Darkness tasks Kagan with investigating the Servant girl in the Cells, Kagan takes on a special mission that will require more than his usual interrogation methods of brute strength and intimidation.

From vastly different echelons of the same tribal society, Alaris and Kagan are surprised to learn they share one important goal—ensuring the best for the people of their island nation. Alaris discovers what the emperor is looking for — a dragon! But warning a senile dragon against impending danger is no easy task. Together, Alaris and Kagan must save a forgetful dragon and a divided nation…which may mean giving up any hope of saving themselves.

Read: 100%

I must admit, Temper the Dark caught me by surprise. When I was done with my initial sampling round (reading 20% of each book in my batch), my mind kept coming back to this book as it got my interest picked. It was the first book I returned to – and finished.

The set up is pretty simple. We have a Servant girl, Alaris who is kept in a cell and only a few people know why, herself not included. And we have Kagan, a young officer, part of the Throlani Guard, nephew of the general who is only second to the Emperor, whose interest is piqued as to why Alaris is imprisoned. Being raised differently, and having vastly different memories from their childhoods, these two have a natural dislike and a mutual lack of trust. Desperate times call for desperate measures, however.

From the get-go, it’s pretty clear where things are headed, but that’s expected from a YA Fantasy Romance novel working with tropes, so I absolutely didn’t have a problem with that. Both Kagan and Alaris were interesting characters with their personalities, views, and traumas. Their interactions were good, and their arc never felt forced. And it definitely wasn’t insta love, for which I was grateful, if there is a romance trope I hate, then insta love is definitely one. Both having their POV, written in first person, was also a bonus, as it helped that they both had their share of the spotlight and we got to see both sides of the equation. I liked that. It also made it easier to connect with them. We got to see both of them struggle with their values, ideas, and prejudices in a way that made them very relatable.

I also liked the island setting and the worldbuilding. I’m not sure what it’s about tropical-like islands that call to me, but here we are. The plot is not overly complicated, but that actually suited this book. On the whole, everything worked very well. There were sweet moments, brutal ones, and a lot in between.

However. As much as I had fun with Temper the Dark, I also had some issues. The writing and the editing are a bit rough around the edges, I felt like it could have done with some cleaning up. And I’m not sure how I feel about one of the big reveals in the end, as it felt… easy? Unimaginative? Yeah, I think that’s a good word. But then, the whole book itself has nothing mindblowing to it, which is not to say it’s bad. On the contrary, I think people will find the familiarity working for them very well. And also, did I mention there is a dragon?

As I said, I certainly enjoyed it a lot, and I believe that it will appeal to a lot of readers, even those who don’t like romance (I promise, it’s not very in your face). Temper the Dark is a standalone with a clear ending, although I don’t see why it couldn’t get a sequel, as there are plenty of things to discover yet.

The Faithful Dark by Cate Baumer

In a holy city where sins and blessings can be revealed through consecrated touch, Csilla – born without a soul – is worthless to the Church that raised her. But when a series of murders corrodes the magic that keeps the city safe, the Church elders see a use for her flaw: she can assassinate their prime suspect, a heretic with divine heritage, without the stain of sin.

The heretic, however, makes a counter-offer: clear his name and catch the real killer, without becoming a target herself, and he’ll use his power to get her a soul. When their investigation catches the attention of Ilan, a ruthless Church Inquisitor demoted for his failure to solve the case, he reluctantly offers his help in order to earn back his position. He’ll bring in the murderer— or failing that, Csilla and the heretic. But as the death toll rises and their hunt pits them against the Faith, Csilla will find that salvation comes at the cost of everything she believes in.

Read: 100%

Hoo boy, where to start with this one? The Faithful Dark was one of the books I picked for myself when we did our own sorting. Based on the blurb I thought yes, this is absolutely up my alley. And the others graciously let me have it, although now I wonder if that was the right decision. But how should I have known that The Faithful Dark would trip me up so hard?

Okay, so as a starter, I’m letting the cat out of the bag. This book is full of Hungarian names and words used as names, mixed with some Slavic ones. I really should have seen this coming with one of the protagonists called Csilla, but I honestly didn’t. It was such a surreal experience that it took me a long time to get over it and not to take me out of the story. But some of the decisions also confused me – why keep the Hungarian spelling for some and not for others? What’s the logic behind the naming? For example, we have some angels mentioned named Arany and Ezüst (gold and silver in Hungarian), but we also have Layol (I think? Anyway, definitely not Hungarian), and then we have the god named Asten (pretty close to the Hungarian word, Isten). Why is one of the protagonists, an Izir (a descendant of an angel and a human, also not Hungarian), got a Hungarian name, but not the other POV character, Ilan? And yes, I know I’m nitpicking, but I guess this book just got unlucky for getting me as a judge.

But on to more important things. The premise of The Faithful Dark is interesting. We have Csilla, a girl who works in the Church, where she wants to belong so badly. She grew up as an orphan, and all she ever wanted was to care for others and to have a soul. Because, you see, she is the only one in Silgard not to have one. A peculiarity that baffles everyone, although not as much as to give her any attention. In this world people’s souls have two sides – one for brilliance and one for shadow and it’s one’s job to keep it as close to brilliance as possible. Only those who are pure can live in Silgard – or those who are rich enough to pay for purifying their souls. It’s the Church’s job to keep the faith alive until Asten one day would return. Until then, the Incarnate runs the show, who is the only one Asten speaks to directly. There are different factions within the Church, and one is led by the High Inquisitor, Ilan. It’s his job to find sin and purify people. More times than not, with torture. Everyone has to have skills.

We meet these characters as Ilan is desperate to solve a series of murders that has the Church in a tight spot. Not speaking of the seal’s weakness as people start to turn from the Church and look for answers elsewhere – namely at the Izir’s preaching. Tamás is the descendant of an angel, and thus he is considered divine. The Church also thinks him a heretic and wants to get rid of him. Using Csilla, that sets off events and leads to a broader plot altogether.

I really struggled to get into the book for a long time. Around the 40% mark, I wasn’t even sure I’d get past 50%. That said, I read 70% of the book in one sitting, because somewhere around the 45% mark something clicked and I got invested in finding out some answers. But something still kept me from loving this book. The characters are flawed, if not particularly likable, the writing is clean, although the prose wasn’t always to my taste. But some things just weren’t logical. Ilan shares some information with Csilla early on which is absolutely out of character, there is a reveal toward the end that they should have seen because they had all the information but were way too fucking trusting, even Ilan who should have known better. And there is that it’s marketed as queer although I have no idea why. There is only one instance where Tamás the Izir kisses the cheek/corner of the mouth of Ilan which comes totally out of the blue and out of character.

Out of the three main characters (although only Csilla and Ilan got their own POV chapters), it was Ilan who grew on me the most which surprised even me, seeing as I didn’t like him much to begin with. But I think he is the only one close to a relatable human being. He is loyal to a fault, he has faith, he tries his best to serve the Church he loves even if through violence. But he also has interesting depths. Csilla is too good and kind which is nice, but I never believed for a second that she’ll be able to solve the mystery, not even with Mihály in tow. Not until Ilan got into the picture. And even then, Csilla remains pretty much useless.

Mihály is a much more interesting character. Not an angel but not fully human either. He is a manipulative and selfish bastard who uses everyone to his own ends, and it’s hard to believe he wants the good of the people. Not very surprising that naive Csilla doesn’t see through him, though I liked that she was never entirely comfortable with him. But then she also had her own reasons to put up with him.

I’m bringing this review to an end, because it’s already too long. I liked the setting and the general idea behind the story. A medieval-like world where the Church is the ruler and faith is a central part of life. The characters are certainly complex as is the plot, but it felt like the author bit more than she could chew. The murder mystery is not particularly interesting – or rather, it’s not explored much as the focus is on the characters way more than it should be. Which is a problem, because I never really could connect with them. The Faithful Dark is certainly one of the most interesting books in my batch, and it has a lot going for it, but I think not unlike Csilla, I was missing a soul.

The Stars Would Curse Us by Stephanie Combs & Valerie Rivers

The Iris were sent to us from the stars, but their rule is controlling and oppressive. Every season, we send our brothers and sisters to the marriage drafts . . . but the selected never return.

Aella – My world falls apart when my best friend and I are drafted to compete for the hand of Esterra’s most eligible bachelor, the devastatingly handsome Iris prince. As an elemental fae, it should be the greatest honor, but the competition is filled with violence. I question my true purpose as we fight to survive in games rigged against us.

Arianwen – Life should be simple—go on my rite and return to marry a man I’ve never met—but when a handsome stranger falls from the sky, everything is turned upside down. Secrets and lies unravel, leading me to question everything as I find myself pulled into a rebellion. My heart longs for a better world, but am I willing to forsake duty in pursuit of it?

We both face choices:

LOVE or DUTY

LOYALTY or ADVENTURE

FIGHT or SURRENDER

Is fate truly written in the stars, or have they abandoned us?

Read: 21%

The Stars Would Curse Us is also one of the books that caught my attention and the first chapter or two made me think “yes, this might be very good.” But then things quickly went downhill, and I never picked it up once I hit the 21% mark.

Up to the point I read, there were 2 POV characters – Aella and Ari, both fae belonging to the Argenti court (their element is water). The 3 fae courts (the 4th, air is extinct) are ruled by the Iris (I’m sorry, but every time the name came up the only thing I could think about was the iconic Goo Goo Dolls song). Anyway. So the Iris is this alien/superior race that took over the reign and set rules. Including the one where females have to be married when they come of age 25 (or sooner, obviously). Those who don’t marry are put into a draw. Those picked will be going to Prisma and competing to become the wife of one of the Iris nobility. It’s pretty much like The Hunger Games. Those who don’t get drawn usually end up with an arranged marriage. Needless to say, the draw can be rigged, so daughters of prominent fae don’t always get picked. Unless when it comes to the prince, in which case the rules change.

Aella and her best friend are among the ones chosen to compete, which comes as a surprise for them. Aella is not wealthy, but her friend is. But since there are more females drawn, and they want to have the prettiest available, they have no choice. Ari, on the other hand, is not among these chosen girls, and so before she has to marry, she goes on a kind of pilgrimage (it’s called matritus-rite here) to learn about herblore and to meditate (not quite sure why). But, The Stars Would Curse Us of course both of them meet a handsome guy and things get complicated.

I *loved* the idea of the Argenti city, where some of the fae lived under the water, some on land and that they could easily move between the two. I really would have liked it if the story was set there, because I wanted to read more about the culture, and the city. I also appreciated the fact that females in this world are not married off at a very young age, but instead at the age of 25. Arranged marriage and the ridiculous competing idea are still not very inviting, but at least they are not children, practically. That said, even though these characters are supposed to be 25 and thus adult (I would say woman, but they are fae, so who knows what counts as adult for them?), they act like annoying teenagers. And once a handsome face shows up it’s like they never met a male in their entire lives. Not that those males are any better, let me tell you.

This book is built on a lot of romance clichés, and while I liked some of the ideas (especially the setting), I didn’t care about the characters, or their story enough to push myself to read on. The Stars Would Curse Us probably will appeal to YA Romance readers, but I just wasn’t the right audience for it.

And there we go, it’s time to sit down and reflect on my choices. And let me tell you, this was hands down the hardest decision I ever had to make for SPFBO. The final decision came down to Temper the Dark and The Faithful Dark, both of which I fully read. Both had things I liked, and things I didn’t. They are widely different books dealing with questions of morality, so that didn’t help either. When picking a semi-finalist I’m always looking for the book I can fall in love with, but that didn’t happen this year (although I did like these books so that’s a good start). Should I pick the book that is rough around the edges but got me more emotionally invested, or the book with a more original idea that lacked emotions (for me, anyway)?

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Temper the Dark by L. Ryan Storms

In the end, I went for my heart. Temper the Dark was the book that stayed with me the most, the one I’m still thinking about. It has relatable actually adult characters, a very slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance that’s not center stage, an intriguing plot, and of course a dragon. I can’t wait to find out what the team will make of it.

Our congratulations to L. Ryan Storms for becoming Queen’s Book Asylum’s second semi-finalist!

To keep up with our progress and the competition, please check out our SPFBO 10 page!