Friday, February 22, 2013

Koishi

By: Annie Nicholas 

Genre:  Paranormal Romance (Erotic) Novella (appx 126 pgs.)
Series:  GateKeepers #1
Published: February 4th 2013
Publisher:  Lyrical Press
ISBN 1616504390 (13: 9781616504397)
Amazon    Barnes and Noble   iTunes
 

4 Columns – Recommended Read

Blurb

Never make a deal with a dragon.

Sandra’s sister is dying. Doctors say nothing can be done, but she refuses to give up hope. She has depleted all their resources searching for a cure, when a little bird whispers in Sandra’s ear about secret worlds, gates, and the keepers who protect them. A dragon gatekeeper, who hoards magical treasure within his volcano home in Japan, possibly owns an item capable of curing her sister.

Gates choose their keepers, and Koishi thinks his did an excellent job in picking him. Not many dare to cross, and none who try survive. However, one tiny human female with either the courage of an army or the intelligence of a gnat has arrived on the island asking for him. Curious, he waits for the locals to steer her to his human servant—actually him, in man form.

Let the games begin…


Review

My Lady Danu has bid me thank thee for the honor done her when thou didst submit thy novel, Koishi, for her review.  In this new endeavor of hers, she is learning much about this plane, but feels she will never fully understand parts of it.  However, she finds this new technology of e-books fascinating, providing an immediacy she wishes to share with her offspring.  They, though, seem determined to remain hidebound – no pun intended.

She wishes me to convey to thee, firstly, that she has long been a reader of thy works and in this story she reaped a rare and very unexpected reward – she sees in the writing thy growth and development into authorial maturity.  Please accept her metaphorical accolades.  She regrets that the laws governing the separation between thy plane and hers make it impossible to provide a more tangible demonstration of her pleasure in thy growth.

My Lady Danu acknowledges her openness to a charge of hubris in her assessment of thy growth but she refuses to allow that to concern her.  My Lady has read much of thy work – beginning in 2009 with the publication of The Omegas, the first in the Vanguard series.  Between then and now she noted a growing depth and deftness of not just thy prose and use of language, but also in the complexity of thy characters and smooth glide of thy plotting.  The unevenness of skill present in thy early work is not encountered in this novella.

The Goddess Danu was surprised by the risks taken in this story, though they may be seen as small risks.  To pen a main character – Koishi – who in the first page openly acknowledges he eats small dogs whilst still alive and loves them, is somewhat unusual.  Yet, in the development of Kioshi’s character arc he is clearly likeable and assured.  He is a mix of the whimsical and sardonic, the Other and the humanly sympathetic.  In My Lady Danu’s opinion the wit and humor, as much self-deprecating as it is teasing, is what carries Kioshi beyond and above – untying him from the potential accusation of an evil, heartless dragon shifter who abuses small animals by sending them to other dragons as a gift and eating them as a preferred snack – and still alive when munched.

The heroine interested My Lady Danu as well.  It would be easy to see her as weak and timid, on top of being a poor sailor whose first appearance on the stage is heaving her guts up, and a somewhat naïve American traveling to Japan – the first time she left not just her country but also her small town.  Intrepid and determined, she is as much a charming heroine as she is a chick emerging from her shell (and isn’t it well that Koishi believes eating winged animals, even if flightless, is unethical.  Does he see them as kin?)  By the end of the story, Sandra is a fierce and intrepid warrior; both in fighting for her happily ever after with Koishi and in helping him defend his gate.

This story is light, humorous and a very quick read.  It is entertainment.  In passing it seemed, according to the Goddess Danu, Koishi's demand for Sandra's trust, even as he views her as a toy, became more repetitive and made up than a true hurdle to be overcome.  My Lady would have enjoyed seeing more development of the moving past their prejudices and preconceptions.  A picayune point and one that speaks to individual authorial decisions.  My Lady picked up on it because she is considered to be hobnobbing with the hoi poloi by her offspring at times given her involvement with those upon this plain.

My Lady also noted the denouement focusing more on Koishi evolving from only a warrior, self-sufficient as the gatekeeper, to daring to become someone defined by something other than his ability with a sword is nicely mirrored against his growing understanding of his mother, who it seemed he originally perceived as a spawn of the dark gods.

In considering this review and how to convey her view, the Goddess Danu did some research into thy backlist and pondered how it’s evolved since the publication of thy first book, The Omegas.  My Lady Danu hopes to soon hear of the publication of thy first full length novel, and meaning no prejudice, thy emergence into genres beyond the erotic.

She bids me also relay to you her favorite line in the story was uttered by Koishi's mother after she confounds his understanding of her - "I have wars to start and battles to fight."  My Lady wonders if Koishi's mother would be interested in  assisting her in bringing her own offspring into line.  It is my Lady Danu's belief that nothing says I'm serious like bladed weapons and fire-whips. She would also be interested to see just how Koishi's mother starts wars.  It is the Goddess Danu's belief that one can never have too much knowledge.

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