jaymeks's review against another edition
4.0
Probably one of the best, weirdest, glorious, and fucked up novellas I've ever read. So good.
catbooking's review against another edition
4.0
PRE-PRODUCTION chapter had me in stiches, the rest is OK but not as good.
linguana's review against another edition
4.0
Less funny this time, more terrifying. But the tons of absurd action (fighting the Easter Bunny, anyone?) and the tension between characters make this another great instalment in the Sin du Jour series.
These novellas are perfect to get you out of reading slumps, to lift up your spirits on a bad day, or just for any moment when you want to laugh about how all sorts of monsters are secretly living among us.
These novellas are perfect to get you out of reading slumps, to lift up your spirits on a bad day, or just for any moment when you want to laugh about how all sorts of monsters are secretly living among us.
gnashchick's review against another edition
5.0
If you have not yet read the Sin du Jour series from Matt Wallace, or the short story "Small Wars" at Tor.com, hie thee to your bookseller of choice and get all three books, right now. Pride’s Spell is the third book in the series.
Matt Wallace cooks up (obvious pun intended) a perfect blend of urban fantasy and laugh-out-loud comedy. Add a side of brilliantly rendered characters navigating situations that would reduce most people to quivering piles of Jell-O, and you’ve got a series that never fails to satisfy.
In this installment, executive chef Bronko has a problem. Sin du Jour is catering the yearly TaurusCon buffet for minotaurs and centaurs, and a booking for a Hollywood premiere comes in at the same time. It seems the Hollywood types had such a great time at the Goblin wedding (book 2) that they’re clamoring for more. Bronko’s only option is to divide the staff and go temporarily bi-coastal.
If the gamer geek in you is screaming, “Don’t split the party!” your instincts are dead on. As soon as the staff are on opposite coasts, the shit hits the fan. On the East Coast, the convention goes off without a hitch because they expected at least some shit since they were serving centaurs. After they get cleaned up, they face an attack by unlikely assailants: The Easter bunny, Cupid, and a viciously evil Santa Claus. The battle is, of course, both violent and hilarious.
In Hollywood, the premiere party is dull to the point of numbing. The staff caters to the “eat nothing” crowd with variations on every food fad available. The real culinary fireworks are planned for the after party, where the VIPs are expecting a spectacle of epic proportions. However, the film producers have something even hotter planned for Bronko and his staff.
Pride’s Spell does have plot elements that begin in the first two books. Wallace gives enough backstory that you’ll be able to read this without trouble, but for the full effect, you should read the first two. Book one, Envy of Angels, is an award-worthy read. Lustlocked was an homage to the Goblin King (Yes, that one), published just a few days after his death, yet written before the public knew he was ill. There is another plot regarding Chef Bronko that began in Lustlocked that I’m avoiding because of spoilers.
I highly recommend the Sin du Jour series. The novellas are inexpensive, quick to read and guaranteed to entertain.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review originally published at The Bookie Monster.
Matt Wallace cooks up (obvious pun intended) a perfect blend of urban fantasy and laugh-out-loud comedy. Add a side of brilliantly rendered characters navigating situations that would reduce most people to quivering piles of Jell-O, and you’ve got a series that never fails to satisfy.
In this installment, executive chef Bronko has a problem. Sin du Jour is catering the yearly TaurusCon buffet for minotaurs and centaurs, and a booking for a Hollywood premiere comes in at the same time. It seems the Hollywood types had such a great time at the Goblin wedding (book 2) that they’re clamoring for more. Bronko’s only option is to divide the staff and go temporarily bi-coastal.
If the gamer geek in you is screaming, “Don’t split the party!” your instincts are dead on. As soon as the staff are on opposite coasts, the shit hits the fan. On the East Coast, the convention goes off without a hitch because they expected at least some shit since they were serving centaurs. After they get cleaned up, they face an attack by unlikely assailants: The Easter bunny, Cupid, and a viciously evil Santa Claus. The battle is, of course, both violent and hilarious.
In Hollywood, the premiere party is dull to the point of numbing. The staff caters to the “eat nothing” crowd with variations on every food fad available. The real culinary fireworks are planned for the after party, where the VIPs are expecting a spectacle of epic proportions. However, the film producers have something even hotter planned for Bronko and his staff.
Pride’s Spell does have plot elements that begin in the first two books. Wallace gives enough backstory that you’ll be able to read this without trouble, but for the full effect, you should read the first two. Book one, Envy of Angels, is an award-worthy read. Lustlocked was an homage to the Goblin King (Yes, that one), published just a few days after his death, yet written before the public knew he was ill. There is another plot regarding Chef Bronko that began in Lustlocked that I’m avoiding because of spoilers.
I highly recommend the Sin du Jour series. The novellas are inexpensive, quick to read and guaranteed to entertain.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review originally published at The Bookie Monster.
gnashchick's review
5.0
If you have not yet read the Sin du Jour series from Matt Wallace, or the short story "Small Wars" at Tor.com, hie thee to your bookseller of choice and get all three books, right now. Pride’s Spell is the third book in the series.
Matt Wallace cooks up (obvious pun intended) a perfect blend of urban fantasy and laugh-out-loud comedy. Add a side of brilliantly rendered characters navigating situations that would reduce most people to quivering piles of Jell-O, and you’ve got a series that never fails to satisfy.
In this installment, executive chef Bronko has a problem. Sin du Jour is catering the yearly TaurusCon buffet for minotaurs and centaurs, and a booking for a Hollywood premiere comes in at the same time. It seems the Hollywood types had such a great time at the Goblin wedding (book 2) that they’re clamoring for more. Bronko’s only option is to divide the staff and go temporarily bi-coastal.
If the gamer geek in you is screaming, “Don’t split the party!” your instincts are dead on. As soon as the staff are on opposite coasts, the shit hits the fan. On the East Coast, the convention goes off without a hitch because they expected at least some shit since they were serving centaurs. After they get cleaned up, they face an attack by unlikely assailants: The Easter bunny, Cupid, and a viciously evil Santa Claus. The battle is, of course, both violent and hilarious.
In Hollywood, the premiere party is dull to the point of numbing. The staff caters to the “eat nothing” crowd with variations on every food fad available. The real culinary fireworks are planned for the after party, where the VIPs are expecting a spectacle of epic proportions. However, the film producers have something even hotter planned for Bronko and his staff.
Pride’s Spell does have plot elements that begin in the first two books. Wallace gives enough backstory that you’ll be able to read this without trouble, but for the full effect, you should read the first two. Book one, Envy of Angels, is an award-worthy read. Lustlocked was an homage to the Goblin King (Yes, that one), published just a few days after his death, yet written before the public knew he was ill. There is another plot regarding Chef Bronko that began in Lustlocked that I’m avoiding because of spoilers.
I highly recommend the Sin du Jour series. The novellas are inexpensive, quick to read and guaranteed to entertain.
Matt Wallace cooks up (obvious pun intended) a perfect blend of urban fantasy and laugh-out-loud comedy. Add a side of brilliantly rendered characters navigating situations that would reduce most people to quivering piles of Jell-O, and you’ve got a series that never fails to satisfy.
In this installment, executive chef Bronko has a problem. Sin du Jour is catering the yearly TaurusCon buffet for minotaurs and centaurs, and a booking for a Hollywood premiere comes in at the same time. It seems the Hollywood types had such a great time at the Goblin wedding (book 2) that they’re clamoring for more. Bronko’s only option is to divide the staff and go temporarily bi-coastal.
If the gamer geek in you is screaming, “Don’t split the party!” your instincts are dead on. As soon as the staff are on opposite coasts, the shit hits the fan. On the East Coast, the convention goes off without a hitch because they expected at least some shit since they were serving centaurs. After they get cleaned up, they face an attack by unlikely assailants: The Easter bunny, Cupid, and a viciously evil Santa Claus. The battle is, of course, both violent and hilarious.
In Hollywood, the premiere party is dull to the point of numbing. The staff caters to the “eat nothing” crowd with variations on every food fad available. The real culinary fireworks are planned for the after party, where the VIPs are expecting a spectacle of epic proportions. However, the film producers have something even hotter planned for Bronko and his staff.
Pride’s Spell does have plot elements that begin in the first two books. Wallace gives enough backstory that you’ll be able to read this without trouble, but for the full effect, you should read the first two. Book one, Envy of Angels, is an award-worthy read. Lustlocked was an homage to the Goblin King (Yes, that one), published just a few days after his death, yet written before the public knew he was ill. There is another plot regarding Chef Bronko that began in Lustlocked that I’m avoiding because of spoilers.
I highly recommend the Sin du Jour series. The novellas are inexpensive, quick to read and guaranteed to entertain.
csdaley's review against another edition
5.0
I have enjoyed all the books in this series but this was easily my favorite. It was probably the killer........oh I can't tell. Let's just say there are some crazy assassins roaming around in this book.
hartd's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this! An event in book two bothered me, and I was surprised to see the other characters in this book reacting the same way I did.
The plot was wild and exciting, once again. This series is action-driven, but the characters are so great. Ritter and Cindy are my favorites at this point, and I liked seeing their homes and learning more about them. I love the author's writing style, too - very witty with so many creative turns of phrase. And he just goes for it, including silly pop culture references without any shame, as well as cultural monoliths.
Anyway, I love this series. I guess these are meant to stand alone, but I would not recommend reading this one before book one.
Spoiler
(Lena having sex with the character she had previously termed a "douchebag")The plot was wild and exciting, once again. This series is action-driven, but the characters are so great. Ritter and Cindy are my favorites at this point, and I liked seeing their homes and learning more about them. I love the author's writing style, too - very witty with so many creative turns of phrase. And he just goes for it, including silly pop culture references without any shame, as well as cultural monoliths
Spoiler
like all the holiday creatures and the actual DevilAnyway, I love this series. I guess these are meant to stand alone, but I would not recommend reading this one before book one.
imzadirose's review against another edition
4.0
Really really fun and enjoyable. Especially the parts with Ritter and Cindy. Look forward to more of this series!
old_tim's review against another edition
5.0
The third volume of this series is just as good as the first 2. There is some continuity in play here, so go on & read the first two before you start this one.
http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2016/06/this-time-its-personal.html
http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2016/06/this-time-its-personal.html
kmpuzzled's review
4.0
I really love this series, so receiving an ARC just let me read the newest book sooner and actually write a review. "Pride's Spell" is the third of a planned seven "deadly sin" books based around a catering company for supernatural clients. There are some references to the earlier books (Envy of Angels and Lustlocked) but enough detail is given that a new reader can start with this one. This installment lets you see what *actually* goes on behind the scenes in Hollywood when a portion of the staff leave to cater a premiere party in LA. Those left to hold the fort have their own things to deal with and those adventures are vividly surreal. The Sin du Jour books are both memorable and fun with a diverse cast of characters, filling all your darkly humorous supernatural horror needs.