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Legacy of Magic #1
Hammered
Seattle native Matti Puletasi has the strength of a bear, the stamina of an ox, and a magical hammer inherited from her dwarven mother.
She’s happy renovating homes and occasionally thumping bad guys until she learns of a mysterious artifact hidden under the house she’s working on. Everybody from humans to orcs to werewolves wants it, and they’re willing to kill to get it. Things go from bad to worse when someone frames her for murder.
The only person interested in helping her is a haughty elf assassin from another realm. He’s handsome, powerful, and deadly, but he’s got an agenda of his own. She dare not trust him—or be attracted to him.
But if she can’t clear her name, the assassin will be the least of her worries.
~
This series is set in the same world as Death Before Dragons.
She’s happy renovating homes and occasionally thumping bad guys until she learns of a mysterious artifact hidden under the house she’s working on. Everybody from humans to orcs to werewolves wants it, and they’re willing to kill to get it. Things go from bad to worse when someone frames her for murder.
The only person interested in helping her is a haughty elf assassin from another realm. He’s handsome, powerful, and deadly, but he’s got an agenda of his own. She dare not trust him—or be attracted to him.
But if she can’t clear her name, the assassin will be the least of her worries.
~
This series is set in the same world as Death Before Dragons.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 9, 2022
2,854 people are currently reading
8,213 people want to read
About the author
Lindsay Buroker
192 books5,950 followersI'm a full-time indie fantasy and science fiction author. When I'm not writing, I'm ferrying my dogs to hiking trails for adventures.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 486 reviews
August 14, 2024
As I might or might not have mentioned previously this book might or might not be my favorite Lindsay Buroker since her Emperor's Edge series. Shock! Dismay! Discombobulation! I mean, I've read quite a few of her books but none of them were quite as scrumptious as Amaranthe & Co's most frolicsome adventures. But hey, guess what? This one is 😬.
“And why did you like this book so much, pray tell?” say you. Why mostly because the cast of characters is yummy as fish, says me.
The MC is a hammer-wielding half-dwarf, half-Samoan house flipper with a glorious cheese obsession (only the best camembert and roquefort will do for this fearless connoisseur, thank you very much). Her roommate/associate is a career goblin studying towards an online architecture degree (and with vegetable crispers-scavenging tendencies. Don't ask). Her business partner is a half-troll, half-Syrian drywalling expert who “observes an inordinate amount of holidays for his dual Muslim and shamanic troll beliefs.” And let's not forget one of the most wonderfully exasperating and magnificently smack-worthy smug, haughty elf in the history of wonderfully exasperating and magnificently smack-worthy smug, haughty elves. (Also, Val Thorvald and the snarkiest tiger in UF make several appearances in the book, so there. “So there what?” you ask. No bloody shrimping idea.)
All in all, I guess you could say that the cast of characters is Slightly Very Yummy (SVY™) indeed.
Then there's also tons of action and fights and stuff, plenty of HAHAHAHAHAHA, severed heads galore (yay!), Crocs-wearing dragons (don't ask), and copious amounts of spilled guts 🤗🤗. But to be revoltingly honest the word “discombulated” is what really clinched it for me. I mean, shrimps and barnacles the world over know that “discombobulation” is one of my mostest favoriteststates words ever, and seeing it used not once, not twice but mutiple times in this book made me want to put my kilt on and dance the night away and stuff.
👋 Until next time and stuff.
P.S. The audio for this book is quite luscious indeed, just so you know.
· Book 2: Betrayed ★★★★
· Book 3: Trolled ★★★★
· Book 4: Tested ★★★★
· Book 5: Wrenched ★★★★
· Book 6: Fused ★★★★
[Pre-review nonsense]
Quite possibly the best Lindsay Buroker I've readin years since The Emperor's Edge.
➽ Review to come and stuff.
“And why did you like this book so much, pray tell?” say you. Why mostly because the cast of characters is yummy as fish, says me.
The MC is a hammer-wielding half-dwarf, half-Samoan house flipper with a glorious cheese obsession (only the best camembert and roquefort will do for this fearless connoisseur, thank you very much). Her roommate/associate is a career goblin studying towards an online architecture degree (and with vegetable crispers-scavenging tendencies. Don't ask). Her business partner is a half-troll, half-Syrian drywalling expert who “observes an inordinate amount of holidays for his dual Muslim and shamanic troll beliefs.” And let's not forget one of the most wonderfully exasperating and magnificently smack-worthy smug, haughty elf in the history of wonderfully exasperating and magnificently smack-worthy smug, haughty elves. (Also, Val Thorvald and the snarkiest tiger in UF make several appearances in the book, so there. “So there what?” you ask. No bloody shrimping idea.)
All in all, I guess you could say that the cast of characters is Slightly Very Yummy (SVY™) indeed.
Then there's also tons of action and fights and stuff, plenty of HAHAHAHAHAHA, severed heads galore (yay!), Crocs-wearing dragons (don't ask), and copious amounts of spilled guts 🤗🤗. But to be revoltingly honest the word “discombulated” is what really clinched it for me. I mean, shrimps and barnacles the world over know that “discombobulation” is one of my mostest favoritest
👋 Until next time and stuff.
P.S. The audio for this book is quite luscious indeed, just so you know.
· Book 2: Betrayed ★★★★
· Book 3: Trolled ★★★★
· Book 4: Tested ★★★★
· Book 5: Wrenched ★★★★
· Book 6: Fused ★★★★
[Pre-review nonsense]
Quite possibly the best Lindsay Buroker I've read
➽ Review to come and stuff.
January 27, 2023
Yet another UF that was just kind of okay. I liked (not loved, but she had promise) the main character and the world-building, but I think what stopped me from really getting into this is that it is clearly a spinoff of another series. There was so much already there that the author expected me to know, and names dropped and characters referenced that weren't really integral, but were distracting. I found myself tuning out a lot more than I probably meant to simply because there was all of this previously established stuff that wasn't fully explained.
I also didn't buy the coincidence of a half-dwarf who just so happens to buy a house that was guarded by another half-dwarf for a dwarfen treasure . Either being half-magical is common in this world or it isn't. It seemed like she met a lot of half-magical people along the way, but a few times the story made a big deal about how uncommon it was to meet other magical people on our world.
I want to continue, but I'll probably check out the original series with Torvald first. I really liked that character anyway.
I also didn't buy the coincidence of a half-dwarf who just so happens to buy a house that was guarded by another half-dwarf for a dwarfen treasure . Either being half-magical is common in this world or it isn't. It seemed like she met a lot of half-magical people along the way, but a few times the story made a big deal about how uncommon it was to meet other magical people on our world.
I want to continue, but I'll probably check out the original series with Torvald first. I really liked that character anyway.
March 11, 2023
I am kind of torn about this one.
My biggest problem with this one is that way too much of it is basically just "Death Before Dragons".
The author appears to have wrung all possible content from the Death Before Dragons series but desired to keep its success going yet lacked the courage to begin something fresh. And I am not referring to it being part of the same world. That is completely fine and expected even.
I am talking about how everything is derivative. The same mannerisms, the same world-view, the same kind of inciting incidents and personal motivations. Even the quirks of the other characters directly one-to-one map to a character of the earlier series.
The by far worst and most jarring example of this is the love interest. He has literally the same voice as Zav. Same mannerisms, the same way of speaking, and the same word choice. It's literally just Zav but as an elf.
And the story doesn't have the same patient slow-burn romance the original series has either.
It seems like the author tries to get her substitute characters to be as close to the original characters as fast as possible.
On one hand, this obvious cloning of the original series was very disappointing and I almost dnf'd the book multiple times because of it, but on the other hand, the author is still a talented and competent writer and the plot was intriguing enough which ultimately kept me going.
There apparently are quite a few people that have either not read the original series or were simply wishing to be able to spend more time with the same (or very similar) characters. And I don't begrudge any of that.
But at the end of the day, the disappointment over the straight copy of the original still wins out over the new-ish plot and the generally enjoyable writing.
I will not pay any money for the second book but if I get the chance to borrow the audiobook from somewhere I will probably check it out to see if the author only starts out at a similar place and eventually goes into a new direction or if it really just stays an attempt at repeating the success of "Death Before Dragons" with next to no changes to the original formula.
Edit:
I got the chance to borrow the next two books and after reading the second book and dropping the third, I have to correct my previous criticism about the missing slow-burn romance. Upon reflection, I realize that the romance in the first book seemed to move quickly, but ultimately stalled out and became more of a one step forward and two steps backward situation.
While I stand by my other original criticisms, I also want to add something that became exceedingly more obvious. The inciting incidents for the main character do not feel quite right to me. She seems to go along with things without considering other options, which feels out of character for someone who is presented as self-reliant and headstrong. But she gets swept along by the events unfolding around her and only ever reacts. This lack of agency undermines the believability of her character.
My biggest problem with this one is that way too much of it is basically just "Death Before Dragons".
The author appears to have wrung all possible content from the Death Before Dragons series but desired to keep its success going yet lacked the courage to begin something fresh. And I am not referring to it being part of the same world. That is completely fine and expected even.
I am talking about how everything is derivative. The same mannerisms, the same world-view, the same kind of inciting incidents and personal motivations. Even the quirks of the other characters directly one-to-one map to a character of the earlier series.
The by far worst and most jarring example of this is the love interest. He has literally the same voice as Zav. Same mannerisms, the same way of speaking, and the same word choice. It's literally just Zav but as an elf.
And the story doesn't have the same patient slow-burn romance the original series has either.
It seems like the author tries to get her substitute characters to be as close to the original characters as fast as possible.
On one hand, this obvious cloning of the original series was very disappointing and I almost dnf'd the book multiple times because of it, but on the other hand, the author is still a talented and competent writer and the plot was intriguing enough which ultimately kept me going.
There apparently are quite a few people that have either not read the original series or were simply wishing to be able to spend more time with the same (or very similar) characters. And I don't begrudge any of that.
But at the end of the day, the disappointment over the straight copy of the original still wins out over the new-ish plot and the generally enjoyable writing.
I will not pay any money for the second book but if I get the chance to borrow the audiobook from somewhere I will probably check it out to see if the author only starts out at a similar place and eventually goes into a new direction or if it really just stays an attempt at repeating the success of "Death Before Dragons" with next to no changes to the original formula.
Edit:
I got the chance to borrow the next two books and after reading the second book and dropping the third, I have to correct my previous criticism about the missing slow-burn romance. Upon reflection, I realize that the romance in the first book seemed to move quickly, but ultimately stalled out and became more of a one step forward and two steps backward situation.
While I stand by my other original criticisms, I also want to add something that became exceedingly more obvious. The inciting incidents for the main character do not feel quite right to me. She seems to go along with things without considering other options, which feels out of character for someone who is presented as self-reliant and headstrong. But she gets swept along by the events unfolding around her and only ever reacts. This lack of agency undermines the believability of her character.
November 8, 2022
Exciting new Death Before Dragons spin-off
I’m a sucker for creative, ambiguous, play-on-words titles and I think I am not revealing too much when I say that in this case it has nothing to do with the state one might find oneself after imbibing too much alcohol (even though that is the meaning I associate most strongly with the word). I am also a long time fan of Lindsay Buroker’s and her Death Before Dragons series is one of my favorite worlds, so when I learned that she was going to write a spin-off in that same world I was elated and grabbed the book as soon as it dropped on Patreon.
If you are looking for a light-hearted, snarky, action-driven Urban Fantasy tale set in Seattle, peopled with a multitude of quirky characters, then this book is for you. Fans of a certain aloof dragon will be happy to know that he (and his footwear) feature prominently as supporting characters, together with Val, Colonel Willard and Gondo, though the story is told from the perspective of a new heroine.
Matti Puletasi is a building contractor who has specialized in fixing up houses. Thanks to her half dwarven ancestry she is handy with a hammer, and when she does not use it for demolishing things, it also doubles as a weapon.
The previous tenant at her current project has been murdered and there are rumours that there is a treasure hidden somewhere on the property. Soon various factions of the supernatural world are descending on the house in search of it, including an irritating elf assassin, who keeps popping up and disturbing Matti’s peace of mind. Matti only wants to fix the house, so that she can sell it, but it seems in order to do that, she has to solve the mystery of the hidden treasure…
A fast and diverting read; I can hardly wait for the second installment.
I’m a sucker for creative, ambiguous, play-on-words titles and I think I am not revealing too much when I say that in this case it has nothing to do with the state one might find oneself after imbibing too much alcohol (even though that is the meaning I associate most strongly with the word). I am also a long time fan of Lindsay Buroker’s and her Death Before Dragons series is one of my favorite worlds, so when I learned that she was going to write a spin-off in that same world I was elated and grabbed the book as soon as it dropped on Patreon.
If you are looking for a light-hearted, snarky, action-driven Urban Fantasy tale set in Seattle, peopled with a multitude of quirky characters, then this book is for you. Fans of a certain aloof dragon will be happy to know that he (and his footwear) feature prominently as supporting characters, together with Val, Colonel Willard and Gondo, though the story is told from the perspective of a new heroine.
Matti Puletasi is a building contractor who has specialized in fixing up houses. Thanks to her half dwarven ancestry she is handy with a hammer, and when she does not use it for demolishing things, it also doubles as a weapon.
The previous tenant at her current project has been murdered and there are rumours that there is a treasure hidden somewhere on the property. Soon various factions of the supernatural world are descending on the house in search of it, including an irritating elf assassin, who keeps popping up and disturbing Matti’s peace of mind. Matti only wants to fix the house, so that she can sell it, but it seems in order to do that, she has to solve the mystery of the hidden treasure…
A fast and diverting read; I can hardly wait for the second installment.
February 11, 2025
4✨
0🌶️ (some light suggestive language used throughout)
Hammered by Lindsay Buroker is the first book in a new series, Legacy of Magic; a spinoff to one of Buroker's earlier series, Death Before Dragons.
⛏ urban fantasy set in magical Washington state (Seattle)
⛏ spinoff series to Death Before Dragons, includes previous characters
⛏ half-dwarf, half-human FMC x elite elf assassin MMC
⛏ 34 year-old FMC
⛏ part-time house flipper, part-time vigilante
⛏ trolls, humans, globins, elves, dragons, werewolves, etc as supporting characters
⛏ powerful hammer with mysterious origins
⛏ elite elf assassin MMC doesn't get Earthisms
⛏ scrappy and stabby FMC x long-suffering MMC
⛏ family secrets and drama
⛏ dry banter as flirting
Hammered follows Seattle native FMC Matti Puletasi, a half-dwarf, half-human house flipper who uses her enhanced strength to both renovate spaces and smash faces as a vigilante, taking out pesky criminals who want to cause trouble in her town. It doesn't hurt that she also has a crazy powerful hammer to use in battle, one inherited from her mother, a dwarf who died under tragic and suspicious circumstances.
When Matti's globin assistant finds them the perfect new house to fix up, they discover the house has more problems than just peeling wallpaper or scratched floors. There's a mysterious artifact hidden beneath the house, one that was guarded heavily, and one that seemingly every magical being in town suddenly wants. And the only one keen on giving her any answers, for a price of course, is Varlesh Sarrlevi, the snobbish blonde elf who showed up conveniently close to the beginning of everything going wrong. Matti knows she can't trust him-he's obviously giving her half-truths and hiding motives of his own-but when her choices of allies become alarmingly slim, and she's suddenly framed for murder, he's her only choice.
Matti just has to keep a damper on her annoyingly obvious attraction to him.
Lindsay Buroker is a fantastic writer, and is truly talented at creating worlds and building plots that plant seeds and then go places. Her ability to introduce worldbuilding and casts of characters in an organic and understandable way, particularly in an urban fantasy, is pretty unmatched, in my opinion. I really wish more readers knew about Buroker's awesome contributions to the urban fantasy [romance] genre, among others.
Having only read Buroker's Emperor's Edge series (a masterpiece, please read it) so far, I genuinely didn't realize that Hammered takes place in the same world as another of Buroker's series, Death Before Dragons, and that Legacy of Magic is a spinoff series that happens after the events of DBD. Characters from DBD make pretty large appearances in this series, so while not COMPLETELY vital to understanding the plot, I can see how reading DBD before this one would add rich and interesting context. So that's what I'm going to do. Pausing Legacy of Magic for now and jumping on the Death Before Dragons train!
But no matter what work you read of hers, I really encourage you to give this author a try!
0🌶️ (some light suggestive language used throughout)
Hammered by Lindsay Buroker is the first book in a new series, Legacy of Magic; a spinoff to one of Buroker's earlier series, Death Before Dragons.
⛏ urban fantasy set in magical Washington state (Seattle)
⛏ spinoff series to Death Before Dragons, includes previous characters
⛏ half-dwarf, half-human FMC x elite elf assassin MMC
⛏ 34 year-old FMC
⛏ part-time house flipper, part-time vigilante
⛏ trolls, humans, globins, elves, dragons, werewolves, etc as supporting characters
⛏ powerful hammer with mysterious origins
⛏ elite elf assassin MMC doesn't get Earthisms
⛏ scrappy and stabby FMC x long-suffering MMC
⛏ family secrets and drama
⛏ dry banter as flirting
Hammered follows Seattle native FMC Matti Puletasi, a half-dwarf, half-human house flipper who uses her enhanced strength to both renovate spaces and smash faces as a vigilante, taking out pesky criminals who want to cause trouble in her town. It doesn't hurt that she also has a crazy powerful hammer to use in battle, one inherited from her mother, a dwarf who died under tragic and suspicious circumstances.
When Matti's globin assistant finds them the perfect new house to fix up, they discover the house has more problems than just peeling wallpaper or scratched floors. There's a mysterious artifact hidden beneath the house, one that was guarded heavily, and one that seemingly every magical being in town suddenly wants. And the only one keen on giving her any answers, for a price of course, is Varlesh Sarrlevi, the snobbish blonde elf who showed up conveniently close to the beginning of everything going wrong. Matti knows she can't trust him-he's obviously giving her half-truths and hiding motives of his own-but when her choices of allies become alarmingly slim, and she's suddenly framed for murder, he's her only choice.
Matti just has to keep a damper on her annoyingly obvious attraction to him.
Lindsay Buroker is a fantastic writer, and is truly talented at creating worlds and building plots that plant seeds and then go places. Her ability to introduce worldbuilding and casts of characters in an organic and understandable way, particularly in an urban fantasy, is pretty unmatched, in my opinion. I really wish more readers knew about Buroker's awesome contributions to the urban fantasy [romance] genre, among others.
Having only read Buroker's Emperor's Edge series (a masterpiece, please read it) so far, I genuinely didn't realize that Hammered takes place in the same world as another of Buroker's series, Death Before Dragons, and that Legacy of Magic is a spinoff series that happens after the events of DBD. Characters from DBD make pretty large appearances in this series, so while not COMPLETELY vital to understanding the plot, I can see how reading DBD before this one would add rich and interesting context. So that's what I'm going to do. Pausing Legacy of Magic for now and jumping on the Death Before Dragons train!
But no matter what work you read of hers, I really encourage you to give this author a try!
May 30, 2024
Enjoying this series!
It is best read after the Death Before Dragons series, as it takes place in the same world and a LOT of the same characters are in it.
*It can be read without reading the other series first too though.*
***Trigger warning for book 2 in the series, the MMC does sleep with 2 other women. He isn't quite "with" our FMC but they are developing feelings for each other & he does this to try to get something for the FMC, if that helps? Threw me for a moment. I didn't think he was going to go through with it and felt eh after reading that bit. So I figured I would mention it in case it is a trigger for someone else 🙃
It is best read after the Death Before Dragons series, as it takes place in the same world and a LOT of the same characters are in it.
*It can be read without reading the other series first too though.*
***Trigger warning for book 2 in the series, the MMC does sleep with 2 other women. He isn't quite "with" our FMC but they are developing feelings for each other & he does this to try to get something for the FMC, if that helps? Threw me for a moment. I didn't think he was going to go through with it and felt eh after reading that bit. So I figured I would mention it in case it is a trigger for someone else 🙃
January 28, 2023
2 stars
The world & mystery has potential. The romantic interest (Elf) seems interesting. So why two stars? I read the premise and expected humor, but my expectations and the reality did not coincide. Also, I’m not a fan of the FMC; she seems friendly but a bit dense. I’m not sure I’ll continue this series. To sum it all up, I finished the book but felt unsatisfied with the story.
The world & mystery has potential. The romantic interest (Elf) seems interesting. So why two stars? I read the premise and expected humor, but my expectations and the reality did not coincide. Also, I’m not a fan of the FMC; she seems friendly but a bit dense. I’m not sure I’ll continue this series. To sum it all up, I finished the book but felt unsatisfied with the story.
November 6, 2023
Hammered is book one in the Legacy of Magic series by Lindsay Buroker. It’s a spin-off of her Death Before Dragons series.
We do have the main characters from Death Before Dragons playing a role in this series. The world is the same, so I’d recommend starting with the DBD series first before diving into the Legacy of Magic series.
Hammered features a whole new gang of quirky characters. We get Matti who is a flipper and a mongrel (half dwarf/half human). She’s got her hammer handed down to her from her deceased dwarven mother to help her flip houses and keep her friends safe. Besides her we meet a goblin who enjoys architecture and another mongrel that helps with the house flipping.
This novel is fun, full of action, adventure, and entertaining. Matti’s fixing up a house she’s just bought, but soon trouble comes along and a verity of factions in the supernatural world descend on her home for whatever is inside; including an irritating elf assassin who keeps popping up and interfering in Matti’s life. She only wants one thing, to fix up the house and move on to another, but fate has other plans in-store.
We have a few different mysteries to solve and one that will continue in the sereis. I read Death Before Dragons, so I’m familiar with the world and enjoy it. I enjoyed all the new characters; especially our elf assassin who is powerful, deadly, and arrogant. I can’t wait to read on.
Fans of Urban Fantasy who enjoy snark, action, a verity of supernaturals, and quirky characters will enjoy this book.
Rated: 4 Stars
We do have the main characters from Death Before Dragons playing a role in this series. The world is the same, so I’d recommend starting with the DBD series first before diving into the Legacy of Magic series.
Hammered features a whole new gang of quirky characters. We get Matti who is a flipper and a mongrel (half dwarf/half human). She’s got her hammer handed down to her from her deceased dwarven mother to help her flip houses and keep her friends safe. Besides her we meet a goblin who enjoys architecture and another mongrel that helps with the house flipping.
This novel is fun, full of action, adventure, and entertaining. Matti’s fixing up a house she’s just bought, but soon trouble comes along and a verity of factions in the supernatural world descend on her home for whatever is inside; including an irritating elf assassin who keeps popping up and interfering in Matti’s life. She only wants one thing, to fix up the house and move on to another, but fate has other plans in-store.
We have a few different mysteries to solve and one that will continue in the sereis. I read Death Before Dragons, so I’m familiar with the world and enjoy it. I enjoyed all the new characters; especially our elf assassin who is powerful, deadly, and arrogant. I can’t wait to read on.
Fans of Urban Fantasy who enjoy snark, action, a verity of supernaturals, and quirky characters will enjoy this book.
Rated: 4 Stars
March 6, 2023
Enjoyable start to an urban fantasy series chock full of magical species such as dwarves, orcs, werewolves and fae, just to name a few. I liked Matti and her sense of humor— just the right amount of snark. I wasn’t a fan of the potential love interest but maybe I will grow to.
So apparently this first book is a spin-off to a series that I have not read. I had no trouble sliding into the world and understanding what was going on however, one of the secondary characters is the main character in the other series and I think I’d probably have appreciated her appearance (as well as that of some other characters from the earlier series) more if I had read that series first. I think I may go back and try that series before continuing with this one.
The narrator for the audiobook does a very good job with voicing the many characters of the different magical species even though I did not like the way she voiced the assassin Sarrlevi. Hoping it grows on me (same goes for the character haha).
So apparently this first book is a spin-off to a series that I have not read. I had no trouble sliding into the world and understanding what was going on however, one of the secondary characters is the main character in the other series and I think I’d probably have appreciated her appearance (as well as that of some other characters from the earlier series) more if I had read that series first. I think I may go back and try that series before continuing with this one.
The narrator for the audiobook does a very good job with voicing the many characters of the different magical species even though I did not like the way she voiced the assassin Sarrlevi. Hoping it grows on me (same goes for the character haha).
January 5, 2023
This was a fairly average, almost mediocre, piece of urban fantasy.
I cannot say that it is a bad book, I did enjoy reading it, but it is certainly not something that made me eager to read the next installment either. Having said that the book had some positive points so I probably will indeed read at least one more book in the series.
I did like the part of the blurb where Matti was portrayed as a rather strong and kick-ass main protagonist “occasionally thumping bad guys”. As it turns out she is not too bad at that although she is like the book, fairly okay but nothing to write home about.
However, that brings us to this “elf assassin”. That part of the book blurb did indeed worry me a bit. Especially the “handsome” part. I was indeed worried that the author would ruin the book with a bunch or urban silly romance and teenage wet dreams. Luckily this did not happen.
As it turned out this elf assassin is probably my favorite character in the book. He is indeed powerful and deadly. Much more kick-ass than Matti. He is also delightfully arrogant and sure of himself. The latter for good reason actually. The dialogue between him and Matti are quite entertaining to read. Especially during the parts where he allows Matti to take refuge in his lair with its various magical appliances. Turns out Matti is better at hammering magical soap dispensers than bad guys.
The underlying story is okay although I was a bit disappointed when it was revealed what had been hidden under the house mentioned in the book blurb. I had hoped it would be something contributing more to Matti’s (magical) character development. As a matter of fact Matti does not really develop much at all in this first book.
Unfortunately the book is a bit messy jumping around a lot and these rather irrational Goblins and whatnot that populate the story are not exactly helping. I could definitely have done with a bit less of the weirdo Goblins.
As I wrote, a fairly average but still somewhat entertaining urban fantasy book and I will probably read one more book before I decide the fate of this series.
I cannot say that it is a bad book, I did enjoy reading it, but it is certainly not something that made me eager to read the next installment either. Having said that the book had some positive points so I probably will indeed read at least one more book in the series.
I did like the part of the blurb where Matti was portrayed as a rather strong and kick-ass main protagonist “occasionally thumping bad guys”. As it turns out she is not too bad at that although she is like the book, fairly okay but nothing to write home about.
However, that brings us to this “elf assassin”. That part of the book blurb did indeed worry me a bit. Especially the “handsome” part. I was indeed worried that the author would ruin the book with a bunch or urban silly romance and teenage wet dreams. Luckily this did not happen.
As it turned out this elf assassin is probably my favorite character in the book. He is indeed powerful and deadly. Much more kick-ass than Matti. He is also delightfully arrogant and sure of himself. The latter for good reason actually. The dialogue between him and Matti are quite entertaining to read. Especially during the parts where he allows Matti to take refuge in his lair with its various magical appliances. Turns out Matti is better at hammering magical soap dispensers than bad guys.
The underlying story is okay although I was a bit disappointed when it was revealed what had been hidden under the house mentioned in the book blurb. I had hoped it would be something contributing more to Matti’s (magical) character development. As a matter of fact Matti does not really develop much at all in this first book.
Unfortunately the book is a bit messy jumping around a lot and these rather irrational Goblins and whatnot that populate the story are not exactly helping. I could definitely have done with a bit less of the weirdo Goblins.
As I wrote, a fairly average but still somewhat entertaining urban fantasy book and I will probably read one more book before I decide the fate of this series.
January 9, 2024
This is a spinoff of the Death before Dragons series. I think you definitely should read the Death before Dragons series before this one. One, because it's an awesome series. Two, because at the start of this book there isn't any world building and I think you'd miss out on a lot in the story.
I love Matti! And I love that Val is still in it too because I thought we wouldn't see Val (and Zav) again.
I love Matti! And I love that Val is still in it too because I thought we wouldn't see Val (and Zav) again.
March 19, 2023
DNF at 48%. Chock full of some of the most cringy tropes of m/f romance fiction. There is no character development, no relationship building by the halfway point, just a really unpleasant, condescending ML who the MC is drawn to because he's hot and for no other reason that's told or shown. She is no less knee-jerk reactive than she was at the start and while it's hinted that he has some problems, we don't actually find out about that. Fourteen chapters in and they haven't even had anything that could really be called a conversation.
They have, however, both seen each other naked, and he's carried her off over his shoulder and dragged her around every time they get in a fight. The author is clearly interested in immediate sexy interaction, unfortunately that interaction consists of things like a smirking asshole playing mind games with an involuntarily naked female MC, or her ogling him naked after walking in on him (to which he also smirks). This is pretty much the opposite of sexy to me. The plot and world building is good, and interesting enough that I want to know what's going on. Not enough to be this annoyed, though.
They have, however, both seen each other naked, and he's carried her off over his shoulder and dragged her around every time they get in a fight. The author is clearly interested in immediate sexy interaction, unfortunately that interaction consists of things like a smirking asshole playing mind games with an involuntarily naked female MC, or her ogling him naked after walking in on him (to which he also smirks). This is pretty much the opposite of sexy to me. The plot and world building is good, and interesting enough that I want to know what's going on. Not enough to be this annoyed, though.
Read
August 18, 2023Rating: 0
Writing a review with no expectation that it will ever be read, is a strange enough experience. Against that continued expectation, there exists the reality that large groups of site members from (three continents at last count) might attack me for -- Reasons, as has been done both on and off this site. If I must be attacked by these figures souls, I should produce a review for them that is legible. That they are aided by Amazon/Goodreads techs in breaking laws is bizarre. 🤔 I have watched a few YouTube channels in preparation for this delightful (dreadful) exercise. They are Interior Design Hub, Ship Happens, LuckyBlackCat, May Moon Narrowboat, Fantasy and World Music, Rebecca Watson, Cass Ellis, Tibees, Brandon Fletcher, Ro Ramdin, Simon C!ark, Not the Andrew Marr Show, Widebeam and Wellingtons,, Fortress of Lugh, Captured in Words, Kaz Rowe, Baggage Claim, JuLingo, Hannah Lee Kidder, Leeja Miller, Mark R Largent, Crecganford, The History Chap, The Kavernacle, Northern Narrowboaters, Double Down News, Jake Broe, Celtica, Rachel Rudolph, Lucy Thomas, Second Thought Wizards and Warriors. I might as well get on with it but now I aim to misbehave.
Advisory: Some commenters have claimed that they are forced to read my reviews, which are only posted on Goodreads and are addressed to future me. I encourage them to mightily resist these phantom voices, cabal directives or cult mandates. Be free, enjoy your life and ignore my reviews. You need only skip to the nearest five star review to find your happiness.
That I like this book and am looking forward to the next in the series, was probably given away by my rating. I usually limit myself to one star maximum for science fiction titles. That reflects my reaction to the display of basic writing skill, language use, plotting, character definition, dialogue and world building. This is only my uncredentialed opinion. Please scan other reviews as Amazon will not "Allow" me to see them. Minus four and five which is tending towards 80% of my loan books, results from insanely overt misogynistic, anti-identity and racist themes, in other words libertarian fantasies. Those are really political tracts with barely the pretense of novel. 😑
This book is a story of a female house-flipping construction worker/main character of dwarven/human heritage. She and her crew are really well drawn and are easy to cheer on. The other characters of different species are all fairly interesting. The dragons are insufferable and that is not specieist. Dragons are just that arrogant, everyone says so. The elves are their usual selfish bundles of self-interest and narcissism. They are just elves being elves and I am not one to judge.
The cast of characters are all colored by their species predilections but when the story shines its light on them, they display their individual personalities. The interactions between them are funny and enjoyable. The military and government are somewhat thinly described but sufficient to the story at this point, at least.
The action takes place in America and it is not clear how the rest of the world responded to the existence of supernatural races. The military's handling of the remaining supernatural population is ugly but appropriate to the reality of American treatment even of their citizens.
The action is well described and fast paced as it happens. The periods of intense personal combat interspersed with politics and plots is a good mix. Seeing the world through the eyes of the main character was awesome. Her body image issues were funny as in laughing with her, not at her. I think that every reader can probably sympathise with her self-doubt. Unfortunately that is probably the set up for a romance series. Most of the urban fantasy available in Amazon's collection for both loan and purchase are romances with magical backgrounds.
The plot of the book seems to fit into the coming series, in a manner similar to that of a good episode into a well designed Dr Who series. It was a good book with which to spend time and I did not rush through it. I must add this comment, the world building appeals to me as a good model of accepted American perspectives towards human rights, military authority, their lack of oversight and the absence of recourse. On its own, the world building is neither complete nor imaginative. It did not improve as the series progressed but as a mindless entertainment as a magical romance it is not especially offensive. For low end US science fiction, that is fantastic. 😊
Amazon have a generally sad loan collection. They include a standard which seems to consist of three categories only. Those seem to be Minimal Effort, No Effort and Insulting. This book was entertaining but is not world shaking except against 1000+ titles, which I borrowed from Amazon's library. There is really a nastiness in low end US science fiction, including urban fantasy and horror. I watch rather than read science fiction at the moment. Buying top tier novels, scanning streaming service offerings or visiting YouTube channels for good film shorts (DUST, Omeleto, NITV and others) are all preferable options.
I misjudged YouTube for years. They are far from a perfect platform. Thank you very much, Google. Despite that, I began scanning the site for good science fiction recommendations and was surprised to find science fiction shorts, literary criticism, other educational channels and lifestyle channels. I actually came upon book channels 😍 last. They are wonderful communities of thoughtful readers enamoured of all things bookish. I recommend a visit to several of them for any reader and have listed some below. I promise that they are the opposite to the Goodreads experience. The educational channels include sponsor spots for the many educational video sites, which are all modestly priced and worth a look.
I originally listed YouTube channels which might generate useful background material for the imagination impaired writers which Amazon seem to favour. I realized that it probably would not help but that other readers might not have discovered the book channels of YouTube. I began adding some favourites, hoping that a new channel might be found entertaining. 🙂
About eighteen months ago, I wrote a six sentence negative review of Powers of the Earth, a poorly written salute to the January 6, 2021 hero attempting an overthrow of the US government because he does not believe he should pay taxes. The writer, Travis Corcoran is an advocate for the return of chattel slavery, US veteran, supporter of Putin's Russia, employee of an unnamed US agency and self-described libertarian.
Perhaps one in five titles which I tried, has been a version of that libertarian rant, which is one of the standards for low end US science fiction. After many months and pages of harassment from a band of seven (if I remember correctly) nutcases including the writer, I got a huge Ha Ha scribbled across the top of the comment page in stylus. Goodreads had played games before with my pages but this was a new level.
Finally Claes Rees Jr/cgr710 (self-described NeoNazi and US patriot) wrote a comment declaring that They had "won" (?). It transpires that They had launched a veritable deluge of foul sexual and racist comments at the female channel creators of YouTube channels, which I mentioned. One young boater and her mother closed their channel. These were not America's finest cultural ambassadors but They reached a very broad audience with their self portrait. They accomplished little else, other than adding to the world's overabundance of ugliness. Courtesy of Amazon, Goodreads discourse is not what I had imagined at the start. USA, Yay? 🤔
My YouTube picks of the moment.
Red Plateaus, BB: Bisaya-Briton Adventure, KernowDamo, SandRhoman History, Tarkski, Folklore Worldwide, Philomena Cunk, Bolero Flashmob, Tom Nicholas, Malinda, Book Furnace, Norse Magic and Beliefs, Living Anachronism, Brittany Page, Ocean Keltoi, Andrewism, Owen Jones, Cruising on the Border.
As for Amazon, I ask that you please consider this as a potentially hostile site. 😐
Ominous music begins. 🙂 These certain types of member do not act alone. Amazon will not "Allow" me to see commenter's names and other odd restrictions from the petty to the sublime. The aggrieved man-children among members are numerous but Amazon themselves have done things that could have been dangerous to me. Their behavior off site caused governmental actions which worried a Goodreads friend for my safety. For scary details, see my review of "Dark Horse", a good novel and series by Diener or Powers of the Earth, that poorly written drivel.
I am confused by what is considered good storytelling on this site and based on the ratings, I do not understand why any of these titles receive less than five stars based on the reviews. If no storytelling standards are considered essential to a good story, the quibbles do not make sense to me. Given the lack of member response to nasty comment clouds directed at a number of reviewers or the misogynistic comments to females "... get the stick out of your ass" or "you sound like you're suffering from a sore butt" comments, the above may be the American standard for speech, behaviour and discourse, at least on this site. My suggestion below assumes that a reader of this review is shocked and adheres to a different social and moral standard. If you are not that reader, the following paragraph probably makes little sense and so you probably realize that you mistakenly read this review.
If sane and healthy, I think that you might consider minimizing profile information, removing friend list lurkers (those who monitor but never post) and taking screenshots of the odd and/or ugly. Pehaps a quick scan of negative science fiction reviews might be telling. If you never write a negative science fiction review of a popular title, you may not be targeted but these actions can not hurt, though to not may well do. A factor to consider is that Goodreads/Amazon have serious customer service issues 🤗 and that both these mental site employees and Goodreads members are American. Ominous music ends. 🙂
May we all find Good Reading! 😊
I am not the best advisor for YouTube channels but these are some of my favourites.
LuckyBlackCat, Shannon Makes, Sort of Interesting, Omeleto, Driftwood Folk, Some More News, Book Odyssey, Double Down News, Terrible Writing Advice, Tara Mooknee, Ship Happens, The Juice Media, 2Cellos, Munecat, Sarah Z, Between the Wars, Cover in French, RealTime History, Mia Mulder, It's Black Friday, ThePrimeChronus, A Day of Small Things, EarleWrites, Cruising Crafts, OrangeRiver, The Templin Institute, Mythic Concepts, Karolina Zebrowska, Heather Dale, Bernadette Banner, Alina Gingertail, Jill Bearup, Real Engineering, Elina Charatsidou, Robbie Cumming, Chris and Shell, Narrowboat Pirate, Plasma Channel, ThePrimeChronus, Veritasium, Cold Fusion, The Belmarsh Conference, Atun Shei, Make Better Media, May Moon Narrowboat Lily Simpson, AirLordsofAria, Brandon Fletcher, Truth to Power, Michael Siegel, Michael Lambert, Traveling K, Noah Samsen, Prime of Midlife, Patrick is a Navajo, Verilybitchie, Second Thought, Vlad Vexler, The Researcher, With Olivia, What Vivi did next, I'm Rosa, A Life of Lit, Lady knight the Brave, Renegade Cut, Library Ladder, Lilly's Expat Life, Hello Future Me, Kelly loves Physics and History, Books with Emily Fox, Kathy's Flog in France, Luciana Zogbi, SideQuest, Interior Design Hub, The Science of Science Fiction, Quinn's Ideas, Alexia Evellyn, Spacedock, Jake Broe, Overly Sarcastic Productions, IzzzYzzz, Some More News, Lady Knight the Brave, Mauler, Tale Foundry, Novara Media, Then & Now, Epimetheus, Sharp Dragon, Books and Lala, Jean's Thoughts, Autumn's Boutique, Historical Fashion, Lily Alexandre, Engineering with Rosie, Lady of the Library, Gutsick Gibbon, Jed Herne, Crow Caller, The Leftist Cooks, Adult Wednesday Addams -2 seasons, MANDY, DUST, Dr Rian Ridden, Paleo Analysis, Tech Space, Viva La Dirt League, Julie Nolke, Rachel Hardy, Stevie Emerson, Astrum, Useful Idiots, Acollierastro, Books with Chloe, Brittany the Bibliophile, Mrs Betty Bowers, RobWords, No Justice MTG, The Welsh Viking, The British Museum, The Kavernacle, Skip Intro, Drew Hall, The Little Platoon, Annie's Literary Empire.
I wish you a gorgeous morning, a splendid afternoon, a wonderful evening, a pleasant night and may we all continue learning. 😊
The person who allows Another to speak for them unchallenged, adopts Another's sins.
My Grandmother
Writing a review with no expectation that it will ever be read, is a strange enough experience. Against that continued expectation, there exists the reality that large groups of site members from (three continents at last count) might attack me for -- Reasons, as has been done both on and off this site. If I must be attacked by these figures souls, I should produce a review for them that is legible. That they are aided by Amazon/Goodreads techs in breaking laws is bizarre. 🤔 I have watched a few YouTube channels in preparation for this delightful (dreadful) exercise. They are Interior Design Hub, Ship Happens, LuckyBlackCat, May Moon Narrowboat, Fantasy and World Music, Rebecca Watson, Cass Ellis, Tibees, Brandon Fletcher, Ro Ramdin, Simon C!ark, Not the Andrew Marr Show, Widebeam and Wellingtons,, Fortress of Lugh, Captured in Words, Kaz Rowe, Baggage Claim, JuLingo, Hannah Lee Kidder, Leeja Miller, Mark R Largent, Crecganford, The History Chap, The Kavernacle, Northern Narrowboaters, Double Down News, Jake Broe, Celtica, Rachel Rudolph, Lucy Thomas, Second Thought Wizards and Warriors. I might as well get on with it but now I aim to misbehave.
Advisory: Some commenters have claimed that they are forced to read my reviews, which are only posted on Goodreads and are addressed to future me. I encourage them to mightily resist these phantom voices, cabal directives or cult mandates. Be free, enjoy your life and ignore my reviews. You need only skip to the nearest five star review to find your happiness.
That I like this book and am looking forward to the next in the series, was probably given away by my rating. I usually limit myself to one star maximum for science fiction titles. That reflects my reaction to the display of basic writing skill, language use, plotting, character definition, dialogue and world building. This is only my uncredentialed opinion. Please scan other reviews as Amazon will not "Allow" me to see them. Minus four and five which is tending towards 80% of my loan books, results from insanely overt misogynistic, anti-identity and racist themes, in other words libertarian fantasies. Those are really political tracts with barely the pretense of novel. 😑
This book is a story of a female house-flipping construction worker/main character of dwarven/human heritage. She and her crew are really well drawn and are easy to cheer on. The other characters of different species are all fairly interesting. The dragons are insufferable and that is not specieist. Dragons are just that arrogant, everyone says so. The elves are their usual selfish bundles of self-interest and narcissism. They are just elves being elves and I am not one to judge.
The cast of characters are all colored by their species predilections but when the story shines its light on them, they display their individual personalities. The interactions between them are funny and enjoyable. The military and government are somewhat thinly described but sufficient to the story at this point, at least.
The action takes place in America and it is not clear how the rest of the world responded to the existence of supernatural races. The military's handling of the remaining supernatural population is ugly but appropriate to the reality of American treatment even of their citizens.
The action is well described and fast paced as it happens. The periods of intense personal combat interspersed with politics and plots is a good mix. Seeing the world through the eyes of the main character was awesome. Her body image issues were funny as in laughing with her, not at her. I think that every reader can probably sympathise with her self-doubt. Unfortunately that is probably the set up for a romance series. Most of the urban fantasy available in Amazon's collection for both loan and purchase are romances with magical backgrounds.
The plot of the book seems to fit into the coming series, in a manner similar to that of a good episode into a well designed Dr Who series. It was a good book with which to spend time and I did not rush through it. I must add this comment, the world building appeals to me as a good model of accepted American perspectives towards human rights, military authority, their lack of oversight and the absence of recourse. On its own, the world building is neither complete nor imaginative. It did not improve as the series progressed but as a mindless entertainment as a magical romance it is not especially offensive. For low end US science fiction, that is fantastic. 😊
Amazon have a generally sad loan collection. They include a standard which seems to consist of three categories only. Those seem to be Minimal Effort, No Effort and Insulting. This book was entertaining but is not world shaking except against 1000+ titles, which I borrowed from Amazon's library. There is really a nastiness in low end US science fiction, including urban fantasy and horror. I watch rather than read science fiction at the moment. Buying top tier novels, scanning streaming service offerings or visiting YouTube channels for good film shorts (DUST, Omeleto, NITV and others) are all preferable options.
I misjudged YouTube for years. They are far from a perfect platform. Thank you very much, Google. Despite that, I began scanning the site for good science fiction recommendations and was surprised to find science fiction shorts, literary criticism, other educational channels and lifestyle channels. I actually came upon book channels 😍 last. They are wonderful communities of thoughtful readers enamoured of all things bookish. I recommend a visit to several of them for any reader and have listed some below. I promise that they are the opposite to the Goodreads experience. The educational channels include sponsor spots for the many educational video sites, which are all modestly priced and worth a look.
I originally listed YouTube channels which might generate useful background material for the imagination impaired writers which Amazon seem to favour. I realized that it probably would not help but that other readers might not have discovered the book channels of YouTube. I began adding some favourites, hoping that a new channel might be found entertaining. 🙂
About eighteen months ago, I wrote a six sentence negative review of Powers of the Earth, a poorly written salute to the January 6, 2021 hero attempting an overthrow of the US government because he does not believe he should pay taxes. The writer, Travis Corcoran is an advocate for the return of chattel slavery, US veteran, supporter of Putin's Russia, employee of an unnamed US agency and self-described libertarian.
Perhaps one in five titles which I tried, has been a version of that libertarian rant, which is one of the standards for low end US science fiction. After many months and pages of harassment from a band of seven (if I remember correctly) nutcases including the writer, I got a huge Ha Ha scribbled across the top of the comment page in stylus. Goodreads had played games before with my pages but this was a new level.
Finally Claes Rees Jr/cgr710 (self-described NeoNazi and US patriot) wrote a comment declaring that They had "won" (?). It transpires that They had launched a veritable deluge of foul sexual and racist comments at the female channel creators of YouTube channels, which I mentioned. One young boater and her mother closed their channel. These were not America's finest cultural ambassadors but They reached a very broad audience with their self portrait. They accomplished little else, other than adding to the world's overabundance of ugliness. Courtesy of Amazon, Goodreads discourse is not what I had imagined at the start. USA, Yay? 🤔
My YouTube picks of the moment.
Red Plateaus, BB: Bisaya-Briton Adventure, KernowDamo, SandRhoman History, Tarkski, Folklore Worldwide, Philomena Cunk, Bolero Flashmob, Tom Nicholas, Malinda, Book Furnace, Norse Magic and Beliefs, Living Anachronism, Brittany Page, Ocean Keltoi, Andrewism, Owen Jones, Cruising on the Border.
As for Amazon, I ask that you please consider this as a potentially hostile site. 😐
Ominous music begins. 🙂 These certain types of member do not act alone. Amazon will not "Allow" me to see commenter's names and other odd restrictions from the petty to the sublime. The aggrieved man-children among members are numerous but Amazon themselves have done things that could have been dangerous to me. Their behavior off site caused governmental actions which worried a Goodreads friend for my safety. For scary details, see my review of "Dark Horse", a good novel and series by Diener or Powers of the Earth, that poorly written drivel.
I am confused by what is considered good storytelling on this site and based on the ratings, I do not understand why any of these titles receive less than five stars based on the reviews. If no storytelling standards are considered essential to a good story, the quibbles do not make sense to me. Given the lack of member response to nasty comment clouds directed at a number of reviewers or the misogynistic comments to females "... get the stick out of your ass" or "you sound like you're suffering from a sore butt" comments, the above may be the American standard for speech, behaviour and discourse, at least on this site. My suggestion below assumes that a reader of this review is shocked and adheres to a different social and moral standard. If you are not that reader, the following paragraph probably makes little sense and so you probably realize that you mistakenly read this review.
If sane and healthy, I think that you might consider minimizing profile information, removing friend list lurkers (those who monitor but never post) and taking screenshots of the odd and/or ugly. Pehaps a quick scan of negative science fiction reviews might be telling. If you never write a negative science fiction review of a popular title, you may not be targeted but these actions can not hurt, though to not may well do. A factor to consider is that Goodreads/Amazon have serious customer service issues 🤗 and that both these mental site employees and Goodreads members are American. Ominous music ends. 🙂
May we all find Good Reading! 😊
I am not the best advisor for YouTube channels but these are some of my favourites.
LuckyBlackCat, Shannon Makes, Sort of Interesting, Omeleto, Driftwood Folk, Some More News, Book Odyssey, Double Down News, Terrible Writing Advice, Tara Mooknee, Ship Happens, The Juice Media, 2Cellos, Munecat, Sarah Z, Between the Wars, Cover in French, RealTime History, Mia Mulder, It's Black Friday, ThePrimeChronus, A Day of Small Things, EarleWrites, Cruising Crafts, OrangeRiver, The Templin Institute, Mythic Concepts, Karolina Zebrowska, Heather Dale, Bernadette Banner, Alina Gingertail, Jill Bearup, Real Engineering, Elina Charatsidou, Robbie Cumming, Chris and Shell, Narrowboat Pirate, Plasma Channel, ThePrimeChronus, Veritasium, Cold Fusion, The Belmarsh Conference, Atun Shei, Make Better Media, May Moon Narrowboat Lily Simpson, AirLordsofAria, Brandon Fletcher, Truth to Power, Michael Siegel, Michael Lambert, Traveling K, Noah Samsen, Prime of Midlife, Patrick is a Navajo, Verilybitchie, Second Thought, Vlad Vexler, The Researcher, With Olivia, What Vivi did next, I'm Rosa, A Life of Lit, Lady knight the Brave, Renegade Cut, Library Ladder, Lilly's Expat Life, Hello Future Me, Kelly loves Physics and History, Books with Emily Fox, Kathy's Flog in France, Luciana Zogbi, SideQuest, Interior Design Hub, The Science of Science Fiction, Quinn's Ideas, Alexia Evellyn, Spacedock, Jake Broe, Overly Sarcastic Productions, IzzzYzzz, Some More News, Lady Knight the Brave, Mauler, Tale Foundry, Novara Media, Then & Now, Epimetheus, Sharp Dragon, Books and Lala, Jean's Thoughts, Autumn's Boutique, Historical Fashion, Lily Alexandre, Engineering with Rosie, Lady of the Library, Gutsick Gibbon, Jed Herne, Crow Caller, The Leftist Cooks, Adult Wednesday Addams -2 seasons, MANDY, DUST, Dr Rian Ridden, Paleo Analysis, Tech Space, Viva La Dirt League, Julie Nolke, Rachel Hardy, Stevie Emerson, Astrum, Useful Idiots, Acollierastro, Books with Chloe, Brittany the Bibliophile, Mrs Betty Bowers, RobWords, No Justice MTG, The Welsh Viking, The British Museum, The Kavernacle, Skip Intro, Drew Hall, The Little Platoon, Annie's Literary Empire.
I wish you a gorgeous morning, a splendid afternoon, a wonderful evening, a pleasant night and may we all continue learning. 😊
The person who allows Another to speak for them unchallenged, adopts Another's sins.
My Grandmother
December 8, 2023
I really enjoyed the Death Before Dragons series and while I was sad to see that series end, I was excited knowing there is a whole spin-off series available already. Not long after finishing the last Death Before Dragons book I picked up Hammered, the start of the spin-off series. I got this one in audio as Vivienne Leheny's narration is such a perfect fit for Lindsay Buroker's books and I enjoy listening to them.
Hammered was awesome. I quickly got pulled into the story and enjoyed getting to know Matti, who is a half dwarf, which I thought was quite interesting. There are some fun new side characters as well as recurring characters from the Death Before Dragons series. The plot was engaging and I liked how there's this clear thread that runs throughout the book with Matti trying to figure out what's hidden underneath the house she's flipping that's attracting magical creatures. I liked the mystery surrounding the mysterious artifact and was curious to find out more and the reveal is quite interesting. There are also some interesting plot points and reveals that tie into Matti's past. It all made for an engaging read and I really enjoyed listening to this book.
I liked the set-up for the slow burn romance. Matti and Sarlevi sure make for an interesting duo. For now they're trading a lot of banter back and forth and I enjoyed reading about it. Matti is clearly attracted to Sarlevi, but he doesn't seem interested in her and more interested in what she can do for him, but I am sure there's more to him than is obvious by now. I look forward to seeing their relationship deepen in future books.
I feel like this book had the perfect balance of being different from the Death Before Dragons series as well as being similar enough that if you enjoy the first series you'll likely enjoy this one too. It has the same snark, humor and style as the first series. Matti is quite different from Val and feels like her own character, but they do both share their love for snark and banter. I think this book is enjoyed best if you read the Death Before Dragons series first. There are a lot of references to the Death Before Dragons series and whole parts of the book where Matti interacts with characters from that series, which I thought was super fun. I enjoyed seeing Matti meet Val, Zav, Willard and Sindari and seeing how they interact.
To summarize: I was excited to start this series and was quickly hooked. I felt it was a very solid and exciting start to this new series. I liked reading about Matti, she was a likable and interesting character and I liked learning more about her personality and her past as the book progresses. I like the set-up for the romance, which is mostly a lot of banter at this point, which is fun to read. I am interested to see where things go next. The story kept my attention and it was such a fun read. I was excited to find out more about the mysterious artifact that's below the house Matti's flipping and attracting magical creatures, the reveal is quite well done and interesting. I would recommend reading the Death Before Dragons series as this spin-off series has quite a lot of references to the first series and recurring characters play a large role in this book. I thought it was fun to see characters like Val, Zav, Sindari and Willard make an appearance and interact with Matti. I got this book in audio and narrator is awesome, I liked how she did Matti's voice differently from Val's voice and has plenty of variety when it comes to voices for characters. All in all I had a great time listening to this book and look forward to the rest of the series.
Hammered was awesome. I quickly got pulled into the story and enjoyed getting to know Matti, who is a half dwarf, which I thought was quite interesting. There are some fun new side characters as well as recurring characters from the Death Before Dragons series. The plot was engaging and I liked how there's this clear thread that runs throughout the book with Matti trying to figure out what's hidden underneath the house she's flipping that's attracting magical creatures. I liked the mystery surrounding the mysterious artifact and was curious to find out more and the reveal is quite interesting. There are also some interesting plot points and reveals that tie into Matti's past. It all made for an engaging read and I really enjoyed listening to this book.
I liked the set-up for the slow burn romance. Matti and Sarlevi sure make for an interesting duo. For now they're trading a lot of banter back and forth and I enjoyed reading about it. Matti is clearly attracted to Sarlevi, but he doesn't seem interested in her and more interested in what she can do for him, but I am sure there's more to him than is obvious by now. I look forward to seeing their relationship deepen in future books.
I feel like this book had the perfect balance of being different from the Death Before Dragons series as well as being similar enough that if you enjoy the first series you'll likely enjoy this one too. It has the same snark, humor and style as the first series. Matti is quite different from Val and feels like her own character, but they do both share their love for snark and banter. I think this book is enjoyed best if you read the Death Before Dragons series first. There are a lot of references to the Death Before Dragons series and whole parts of the book where Matti interacts with characters from that series, which I thought was super fun. I enjoyed seeing Matti meet Val, Zav, Willard and Sindari and seeing how they interact.
To summarize: I was excited to start this series and was quickly hooked. I felt it was a very solid and exciting start to this new series. I liked reading about Matti, she was a likable and interesting character and I liked learning more about her personality and her past as the book progresses. I like the set-up for the romance, which is mostly a lot of banter at this point, which is fun to read. I am interested to see where things go next. The story kept my attention and it was such a fun read. I was excited to find out more about the mysterious artifact that's below the house Matti's flipping and attracting magical creatures, the reveal is quite well done and interesting. I would recommend reading the Death Before Dragons series as this spin-off series has quite a lot of references to the first series and recurring characters play a large role in this book. I thought it was fun to see characters like Val, Zav, Sindari and Willard make an appearance and interact with Matti. I got this book in audio and narrator is awesome, I liked how she did Matti's voice differently from Val's voice and has plenty of variety when it comes to voices for characters. All in all I had a great time listening to this book and look forward to the rest of the series.
October 5, 2023
DNF @ 20%
Apparently this is a spin-off from another series that is set in the same world. Unfortunately, this is not a solid stand alone and it becomes apparent very quickly that the reader should know all kinds of information from that original storyline.
In addition, I’m not sure if it’s because I DON’T have any connection to these characters but I found myself having a hard time liking the female MC. She comes across (at least to me) as abrasive and impulsive. I was also listening to this on audio and the narration of some of these characters was…..well, interesting. It was hard not to think, “really?”
So, I’m going to stop here and then add the original Dragon series to my TBR. Then I can see if that makes a difference and I can try again at that later time- hopefully it will give me a more solid foundation.
Apparently this is a spin-off from another series that is set in the same world. Unfortunately, this is not a solid stand alone and it becomes apparent very quickly that the reader should know all kinds of information from that original storyline.
In addition, I’m not sure if it’s because I DON’T have any connection to these characters but I found myself having a hard time liking the female MC. She comes across (at least to me) as abrasive and impulsive. I was also listening to this on audio and the narration of some of these characters was…..well, interesting. It was hard not to think, “really?”
So, I’m going to stop here and then add the original Dragon series to my TBR. Then I can see if that makes a difference and I can try again at that later time- hopefully it will give me a more solid foundation.
March 29, 2023
3.5/5.0
It’s great to return to the Death by Dragons world! This time, however, we are introduced to a completely new character, while continuing with characters from the afore-mentioned series. This new series has the same feel, snark and action but also the same page-turning fun. I can’t wait to see how this talented author develops the new stories.
It’s great to return to the Death by Dragons world! This time, however, we are introduced to a completely new character, while continuing with characters from the afore-mentioned series. This new series has the same feel, snark and action but also the same page-turning fun. I can’t wait to see how this talented author develops the new stories.
May 14, 2024
I liked it. If you've read her Dragon series, Val and Sindari are also in this book. 4 stars
November 21, 2022
It was a slow build and slow burn. My favorite scenes are with Sarrlevi. I did come to care for Matti’s friends too. I am definitely reading the next books to figure out what the heck is going on.
The world building and beginning was kind of slow and I didn’t anticipate how long we would have to wait before exploring what laid beneath the house, but Lindsay has this way of writing that keeps you pulled in so you can figure out the mystery. And then she throws little romance rocket bombs that keep reeling you back in to see what happens next.
If you’ve read A Wolf In the Woods, we get a little more steam a little sooner although no kisses have been traded yet. So maybe that’s why I enjoyed reading about Matti’s adventure even though there felt like a lot of pages about home renovations?
The magic is fascinating but our little Matti doesn’t haven’t anyone to teach her so it doesn’t have a big plot line but I hope we get more in the next book.
Next book is also called Betrayed so… I’ve been eyeing everyone in book one with suspicion lol.
The world building and beginning was kind of slow and I didn’t anticipate how long we would have to wait before exploring what laid beneath the house, but Lindsay has this way of writing that keeps you pulled in so you can figure out the mystery. And then she throws little romance rocket bombs that keep reeling you back in to see what happens next.
If you’ve read A Wolf In the Woods, we get a little more steam a little sooner although no kisses have been traded yet. So maybe that’s why I enjoyed reading about Matti’s adventure even though there felt like a lot of pages about home renovations?
The magic is fascinating but our little Matti doesn’t haven’t anyone to teach her so it doesn’t have a big plot line but I hope we get more in the next book.
Next book is also called Betrayed so… I’ve been eyeing everyone in book one with suspicion lol.
November 27, 2022
“Hammered,” book one in the Legacy of Magic series is a spin-off of the Death Before Dragons series and I have to say that I really missed that series because I believe it ended too soon. This time we meet Matti a “mongrel dwarf whose mother was killed protecting her and her sister from a vicious attack when she was only four. Her father was captured and put in prison where he has resided for the past 30 years.
Matti only has her mother’s hammer to remember her and she uses it as a tool in her house flipping business with her friends. No sooner than she has acquired a new house to renovate she is attacked by a bunch of werewolves. Before she can even blink a pompous and arrogant assassin, Sarrlevi kills them and leaves their bodies on her lawn. As Matti is continually attacked she learns Sarrlevi is searching for her mother. As they maneuver through attack after attack Matti falls on the radar of Val Thorvald and Captain Willard.
If Matti and her friends are to remain safe and attempt to renovate the house before it is destroyed, she will need to work with Thorvald and Sarrlevi especially since her Dwarven knowledge is limited.
It was so much fun to be back in the world of Val and her husband the dragon, Zav. I so miss this series. However, this new series promises to be just as entertaining. I can wait to see how Matti will get the frustrating assassin, Sarrlevi to heel. It should be quite fun!
Matti only has her mother’s hammer to remember her and she uses it as a tool in her house flipping business with her friends. No sooner than she has acquired a new house to renovate she is attacked by a bunch of werewolves. Before she can even blink a pompous and arrogant assassin, Sarrlevi kills them and leaves their bodies on her lawn. As Matti is continually attacked she learns Sarrlevi is searching for her mother. As they maneuver through attack after attack Matti falls on the radar of Val Thorvald and Captain Willard.
If Matti and her friends are to remain safe and attempt to renovate the house before it is destroyed, she will need to work with Thorvald and Sarrlevi especially since her Dwarven knowledge is limited.
It was so much fun to be back in the world of Val and her husband the dragon, Zav. I so miss this series. However, this new series promises to be just as entertaining. I can wait to see how Matti will get the frustrating assassin, Sarrlevi to heel. It should be quite fun!
January 10, 2024
Finding your path
A great start to a new series. Very good empire building introducing the different races and characters.
Matti is half dwarf on her mother's side. Though there are a number of mixed bloods in this book, most humans do not know other races exist. Matti owns her own business buying houses and using her innate inherited talent of craftsmanship to fix up the houses before reselling them. On the other side, she can not and will not stand by when someone is in trouble. The other part of her dwarf heritage is a big hammer when things get physical.
Matti's latest project is definitely much more than she bargained for. This will bring her a lot of unwanted attention from powerful enemies, allies, and the authorities as well.
This book covers all the basics that could be read as a stand-alone book that leaves enough intrigue to make a great series.
A great start to a new series. Very good empire building introducing the different races and characters.
Matti is half dwarf on her mother's side. Though there are a number of mixed bloods in this book, most humans do not know other races exist. Matti owns her own business buying houses and using her innate inherited talent of craftsmanship to fix up the houses before reselling them. On the other side, she can not and will not stand by when someone is in trouble. The other part of her dwarf heritage is a big hammer when things get physical.
Matti's latest project is definitely much more than she bargained for. This will bring her a lot of unwanted attention from powerful enemies, allies, and the authorities as well.
This book covers all the basics that could be read as a stand-alone book that leaves enough intrigue to make a great series.
January 2, 2023
Stopped at 11%…just not buying it
The protagonist seems way too cavalier about witnessing the murder of werewolves and possible danger, and so do her side kicks.
I feel like I’m joining in a series several books in, as the characters seem to have a lot of backstory that is inserted into the first few chapters. Unfortunately, the brief info dumps bog down the momentum of the plot.
I am not interested in a hammer-toting tough gal who shrugs off violence, threats, and death, and discusses going out drinking with her buddies and ignores the mysterious murders of those around her. I’d rather read other books by this author.
The protagonist seems way too cavalier about witnessing the murder of werewolves and possible danger, and so do her side kicks.
I feel like I’m joining in a series several books in, as the characters seem to have a lot of backstory that is inserted into the first few chapters. Unfortunately, the brief info dumps bog down the momentum of the plot.
I am not interested in a hammer-toting tough gal who shrugs off violence, threats, and death, and discusses going out drinking with her buddies and ignores the mysterious murders of those around her. I’d rather read other books by this author.
January 17, 2023
what's so attractive about a guy who constantly insults, sneers, smirks at the female mc and the female mc salivates over him nonetheless? nothing
February 3, 2023
I used to LOVE Lindsay Buroker's books (seriously, read The Emperor's Edge or Star Nomad), but this one didn't do it for me. I won a free copy and it took me FOREVER to read. I just couldn't connect with the story or characters.
The main character is half-dwarf and lives in Seattle. She flips houses for a living. She is drawn into a vast conspiracy involving an elf assassin and her long-dead dwarf mother that I didn't really figure out by the end of the book. I'm assuming it's resolved in future books but honestly, I'm not intrigued enough to read any more in this series.
The main character is half-dwarf and lives in Seattle. She flips houses for a living. She is drawn into a vast conspiracy involving an elf assassin and her long-dead dwarf mother that I didn't really figure out by the end of the book. I'm assuming it's resolved in future books but honestly, I'm not intrigued enough to read any more in this series.
September 21, 2023
Hammered by Lindsay Buroker is the first book in the "Legacy of Magic" series. I was really surprised at how good this book was. It is Urban Fantasy and much of that genre is pretty cookie-cutter. This one is different in that the main character, Matti Puletasi, is a house-flipping renovator who also happens to be a half-dwarf who wields a magic hammer. After buying a large mansion to renovate she soon discovers that the previous owners have left something buried under the house. Something magical! It seems that everyone from a pack of werewolves to the U.S. Military wants it. All Matti wants is to make a profit on the house and lead a quiet life. Some things are just not meant to be.
This book was a great read and I will continue with the rest of the series.
This book was a great read and I will continue with the rest of the series.
July 7, 2023
Lindsay Buroker has become one of my favorite authors in recent years. She writes good, solid, characters with fascinating problems and interesting situations.
Matti Puletasi is a home flipper who's half dwarf and half human, who really, really likes cheese, and occasionally helps others out with her hammer, which she inherited from her dwarven mother. Life gets complicated when the house she's in the process of renovating starts drawing a number of supernatural people, bent on finding a magical artifact hidden under its foundations.
Much to Matti's frustration and annoyance, they keep interrupting her work and she finds herself the center of attention of not only the supernatural community, but also a local Army Colonel and her watch dog, Val Torvold (Sinister Magic), and an elf assassin who may or may not be hunting Matti's long (supposedly) dead mother.
Let chaos and mayhem ensue as Orcs and werewolves fight over who should be first for the prize, whatever it is, since it's gone missing.
Matti just wants to get on with her job.
Great read/listen!
Matti Puletasi is a home flipper who's half dwarf and half human, who really, really likes cheese, and occasionally helps others out with her hammer, which she inherited from her dwarven mother. Life gets complicated when the house she's in the process of renovating starts drawing a number of supernatural people, bent on finding a magical artifact hidden under its foundations.
Much to Matti's frustration and annoyance, they keep interrupting her work and she finds herself the center of attention of not only the supernatural community, but also a local Army Colonel and her watch dog, Val Torvold (Sinister Magic), and an elf assassin who may or may not be hunting Matti's long (supposedly) dead mother.
Let chaos and mayhem ensue as Orcs and werewolves fight over who should be first for the prize, whatever it is, since it's gone missing.
Matti just wants to get on with her job.
Great read/listen!
January 22, 2023
Not much to say about this. It was well written with a likeable heroine. I did find her a bit too easy to manipulate and kind of desperate for approval, but it came across realistically as part of a flawed and faceted personality.
Sadly I feel like it lacked the spark I usually look for in my books, and the chemistry between leads wasn’t really up to par.
Maybe the next book will be better.
Sadly I feel like it lacked the spark I usually look for in my books, and the chemistry between leads wasn’t really up to par.
Maybe the next book will be better.
February 1, 2025
There were so many characters and species in the beginning it was overwhelming. Then as it settled down the story struggled to draw me in completely. The characters felt flat. When it ended I didn't care if the MC found her ____ or if anyone had relations. It was definitely more plot driven. I will not continue the series
November 12, 2022
Oh Lindsay Buroker, darn you. Slayer if sleep. Addiction causer. Evil, I say. Evil! Ok, maybe not quite, but I will say that Hammered (Legacy of Magic, Book 1) is fiendishly fun. Full of snark, action, great urban fantasy and even inklings of a possible start of a slow burn romance. Add in a great half-dwarf leading lady in Matti, carpenter by choice but perfectly lock-a** as needed. Plus, if you’re a fan of her Death Before Dragons series (which, frankly, is one of my all-time favorite series), you get the return of elf assassin Sarrlevi (a favorite secondary character in some of those books) plus great cameos (really, at least in this book, a supporting character role) from Thorvald and (for a bit) her dragon. Perfectly written and perfect fun. What more could you ask for? Oh yes, a book 2. Luckily it’s out (and I’m already starting it). As for this book? Most definitely highly recommended.
December 12, 2024
Excellent urban fantasy
The worldbuilding is imaginative, Matti is a likeable and believable main character, and Matti's friends are a great supporting cast. The snark is real, there is graphic violence, and mysteries abound.
The worldbuilding is imaginative, Matti is a likeable and believable main character, and Matti's friends are a great supporting cast. The snark is real, there is graphic violence, and mysteries abound.
December 19, 2022
Enjoyed! It’s rare I want to finish a book these days. Matti is an enjoyable main character. I have not read any Death Before Dragons books that started off this world, fyi.
Going to read the next book now. I really enjoy the author’s ability to make you care but also keeping it light. It’s a hard balance to do as a writer and she does it well.
Going to read the next book now. I really enjoy the author’s ability to make you care but also keeping it light. It’s a hard balance to do as a writer and she does it well.
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