General Housekeeping:
First and foremost, thank you to the authors again for sharing their literary world with The Critiquing Chemist and the Bookish Boffin!
Over the next few Fridays, the Critiquing Chemist will be posting their elimination posts for SPFBOX. This is our fifth year participating in SPFBO and our fourth year partnering with the lovely and wonderful Lynn’s Books. Every year, this stage of the contest gets harder and harder!
With these SPFBO eliminations, The Critiquing Chemist and her Bookish Boffin, along with Lynn’s Books, are working their way through Phase One. Elimination posts, such as this one, will serve as a general announcement regarding the titles to be cut with a short spoiler-free overview included for each novel. Eliminations and semifinalists will ONLY be announced in specific posts regarding those aforementioned topics and not in individual novel full reviews.
Without further ado, our second set of eliminations can be found in the next section. Please keep in mind that these titles are in no particular order or ranking, whether within this post or the rest of our Phase One cuts.
The Door to Trilesk by Shannon Holly
SPFBO Status: Cut
Blurb:
Kate shouldn’t be here. Yet here she was, risking her mom’s wrath, to come back to a house she can’t remember. A house her estranged aunt lived in until her disappearance a year ago. A house her mom desperately tries to keep Kate from.
But Kate can’t resist the pull of the house as it draws her in and soon memories of a forgotten magical childhood summer spent with her aunt start to surface.
Seeking answers, Kate discovers her aunt’s hidden journal, locked away. Not sure what to expect, she begins to read and is soon lost in her aunt’s tales of her adventures and danger on other worlds. She also learns her family comes from a long line of travelers and can travel to other dimensions through doors only they can see.
When a powerful creature thunders down from a hole ripped in the sky and threatens Kate, she is left shaken with the possibility that her aunt may be alive, held captive for information in the journal that could end all worlds and Kate is the key to finding her.
But first she must figure out how to see those doors…
General Thoughts:
Kate’s aunt, Esmerelda, has been known to go on long trips for work without much warning. She left for her last one over a year ago and hasn’t been heard from since. Now, Kate’s mother wants to declare her legally dead in order to sell the house she and Esmerelda grew up in, a house that she has forbidden Kate from ever visiting. Upon learning what her mother intends to do, Kate goes anyway, feeling inexplicably drawn to the house. What’s even more strange is that Kate has no memory of this place despite having spent an entire summer there years ago. Upon arrival, bits and pieces start to come back to her, and Kate recalls just how magical her time there had been with her aunt. And just in time, as she’s in desperate need of inspiration for an upcoming art show. It doesn’t take long, however, for Kate to start experiencing and seeing things that can’t be easily explained. There’s also the mystery regarding what really happened to her aunt. As Kate continues to uncover secrets about her family and the home they’ve had for centuries, it becomes clear that the past may hold the key to explaining what’s happening in the present.
Shannon Holly has delivered an enchanting story in The Door to Trilesk. There’s a bit of an Alice in Wonderland feel to it, with doors being used as portals to other realms and a delightful array of non-human characters that assist Kate in understanding what’s really going on (even though it repeatedly makes her question her sanity). This adventure also features brief sci-fi elements through various technological inventions and spaceships. As a fan of worldbuilding where the options of what can exist are limited only by one’s imagination, I always want to know more about the different locations and the individuals that live there. Understandably, the main focus here is on Trilesk and how their history relates to the current predicament.
While trying to uncover the truth, Kate discovers one of Esmerelda’s journals, recounting her journeys to faraway places. Holly uses this as a way to introduce another point of view and give context to the family divide. In addition to having complex relationships on display, many different character personalities are featured throughout, each with their own quirks and charm. It was nice to see how various characters evolved beyond their initial impressions. In terms of plot development, the pacing worked really well once Kate leaned into the weird. Overall, The Door to Trilesk wraps up with a satisfying conclusion where I’d happily follow any of the characters on their next adventure.
My Boss is the Devil by Ben Schenkman
SPFBO Status: Cut
Blurb:
Finding the balance between good and evil is about to require a lot of coffee.
What’s better than being a college dropout twenty-something working as a barista in New Haven, CT? Just about anything.
Nick would give anything to escape the dead-end life he’s made for himself. He gets the offer of a lifetime from Lucifer himself, to trade his apron for a suit. Should he really consider becoming an agent of the Devil? With the way things are going for Nick, of course he should.
Lucifer wants to give Nick a chance to do what he always wanted, to help people, wielding power and influence to make their dreams come true. He would have to sell his soul, but the Devil is a gambling man and lets Nick experience his new life before he has to sign on the dotted line. Can he use the Devil’s power for good, and make his mark on the world, or will he fall victim to his own desires and lose his humanity?
As if that wasn’t enough, the very friend that made the meeting with Lucifer possible turns on Nick, and he needs to do some quick thinking to come out on top. Maybe the ends justify the means, but there are no easy answers.
General Thoughts:
Nick is a barista from New England who, while passionate about coffee, feels slightly rudderless when it comes to his future. One night, he decides to tag along while his Satan-worshiping friends attempt to summon the Devil in a local graveyard. As the designated mixologist, Nick expects to spend his witching hour pouring absinthe and watching the ritual from a distance. That is until a well-dressed man named Lu introduces himself. Oddly enough, his presence is evident only to Nick. What follows is a proposition to join Lucifer’s team, allowing Nick to do good by using untold power and wealth to help others. All it will cost is his soul. Before he’s willing to sign it all away, Nick opts to work for Lu on a trial basis first. The sudden shift in Nick’s circumstances and demeanor starts to draw attention from his friends, both wanted and unwanted. As he spends more time in Lu’s employ, will Nick be able to stay true to himself, or will he succumb to the allure of righting wrongs via immoral means, effectively losing his humanity in the process? Is the price worth it if it’s for the greater good?
My Boss is the Devil is book one in The Devil You Know series by Ben Schenkman. Similar to the legend of Faust, Schenkman serves up the classic tale from a fresh perspective. Lucifer never feels pushy about wanting Nick to work for him. Rather, Nick’s hesitation to sign on and give up free will leads to many interesting philosophical debates and banter between the two. The amount of research that went into this story is evident not only from these discussions but also from the well-placed easter eggs that reflect Lu’s humorous nature. Overall, the narrative tends to focus on Nick’s inner monologue, weighing the pros and cons of being an agent for the Devil. Albeit thought-provoking, this hindered the pacing a bit, in my opinion, as it felt slightly repetitive and indecisive.
I enjoyed getting to peek behind the curtain on the inner workings in Lu’s corporation and the individuals he employs. The company is portrayed in such a way that makes it feel unexpectedly normal, like including the need for a legal department to sort out contracts, considering “the devil is in the details.” Schenkman cleverly balances mundane day-to-day activities with the more dangerous situations that can arise. As the tale unfolds, we’re able to see how Nick’s relationships are impacted by his newfound position in unexpected ways. And there’s always the question in the back of your mind about whether Lu is as amiable as he seems or if it’s all a facade to manipulate you. The antics really start to amp up in the last quarter of the book, as Nick is finally forced to make a decision about his future.
Visions of Snapdragon by Jana Sun
SPFBO Status: Cut
Blurb:
Jack has always known she was a gifted psychic, her magic guiding her through life’s mysteries enough to own a shop specializing in psychic readings. But when she discovers her magic stems from one of the ancient goddesses known as the Seer, her visions start to include her own life-possibly ending.
Diego’s punishment for shattering the links between Earth and the magical realm of Obius finally catches up to him, making his fractured heart run out of the magic to keep him alive even faster. Drawn to Jack’s magnetic aura, Diego believes that only she can help him recover the fragments of his shattered heart and-maybe-restore the severed connection between the realms.
As Jack and Diego join forces, a forbidden love ignites, but it’s a tale Diego knows the ending to. Her visions are getting stronger though, and Jack can’t shake the feeling that’s a greater threat that comes along with Diego’s desire to heal his heart. As the stakes rise, Jack’s learning what it means to be a Priestess as her growing feelings for Diego intensify, testing the very bounds of her magic.
In this enthralling urban fantasy, Jack and Diego’s quest intertwines fate, love, and destiny. Can they mend the broken pieces of Diego’s heart before it’s too late? Or will Jack’s dark visions come to fruition?
Prepare to be enchanted by an unforgettable tale of magic, sacrifice, and romance as Jack and Diego’s destinies collide, forever altering the fate of both realms.
General Thoughts:
While Jack’s ability to read people is the focus of her Visions and Trinkets shop in Cape Margaret, her visions can come on unexpectedly, resulting in the odd bruise every now and then. Luckily, she hasn’t been interrupted while in the midst of anything life-threatening thus far. Lately, however, her visions have been increasing not only in frequency but also in intensity and seem to center on a dying man, Diego, who is running dangerously low on the magic that sustains him. Long ago, Diego severed the connections between Earth and the other realms in an effort to protect his homeland and save its priestess. This enraged the Goddesses so much that they fractured his heart and left him to roam Earth aimlessly. Now, Diego is running out of time and believes that Jack is the key to putting the pieces back together. As Jack tries to determine just how their futures intertwine, she senses something else on the horizon that threatens to put an end to everything she holds dear. Will she be able to ground herself before her visions overtake her? Will she be able to resist the feelings she has for Diego and remain level-headed while the realms start to blur around her?
Visions of Snapdragon is book one of The Seer’s Blessing by Jana Sun. It is written from multiple perspectives and highlights the lengths one will go to to protect those they love. While there are many characters making their voices heard, each change in perspective is warranted and helps to move the story along by adding to the overarching mystery in satisfying ways. It’s readily apparent that Sun has taken the time to craft characters that are diverse and complex. I especially enjoyed the bond between Jack and her family (magical cat included) and the support they give each other. As we get to know the characters better, quite a few of them start to catch feelings for one another. The banter that ensues as a result is quite entertaining. I also enjoyed the worldbuilding surrounding the different realms and magic’s place in the world. As the novel draws to a close, there are plenty of directions for Sun to take the story in later installments. We’ve only just begun to scratch the surface regarding the events that led to the final showdown, so I’m excited to see what comes next!
The Critiquing Chemist 