Coils by Barbara Ann Wright

Coils
by Barbara Ann Wright
Pages: 312
Date: September 13 2016
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Series:

Review
Rating: 4
Read: September 13 to 14 2016

I've read 7 books by this author, which happens to correspond to the total number published. I feel like I should put something here like 'I purchased this book and did not get it through any ARC programs’ but cannot figure out how to word it. Other than, you know, like that.

What’s there to say? Book is like the description on GoodReads. Cressida is a graduate student in college, studying such things like ‘literature’, specifically those that would include Greek stories and myths. She was inspired to go in this direction by seeing her aunt’s life – though aunt June is more hands on than Cressida (as in archaeology and the like).

Book opens with Cressida standing around June’s place trying to figure out where June had disappeared to. And no, I don’t mean she was visiting and she misplaced June. I mean that she had an email from June indicating that she had found something quite neat, though some might call it impossible. That was four days ago. No news since.

During a bit of searching June’s apartment, and computer, Cressida connects up with some guy who had flown in from London. Apparently some of that Greek myth stuff might have some basis in fact.

One of my first thoughts, when I actually got the book and opened it, was how odd everything seemed. As in – the first four books I had read by Wright were in that ‘High Fantasy’ style (or at least a fantasy set on a world not Earth). Fifth was an odd one about Vikings and fantasy land. Sixth was literally on another planet, but this time with a Science Fiction thread. So the odd part? How contemporary and ‘modern times’ the opening of Coils was.

Course things immediately, more or less, turn to fantasy land – specifically the Underworld. So that contemporary feel left, eh? Well, not quite. See, those people ‘down there’ ‘keep up’ with what’s going on up here so . . . a mix of fantasy/underworld/’contemporary cityscape’.

Interesting story. I’ve read several like it, though can’t recall one off the top of my head that specifically involved lesbians – or at least one lesbian (the others are, you know, something like pansexual; I’d make a comment about ‘ancient Greeks and their man-man love’ but I’m not sure how specifically to word that, and no, this time I’m not falling back on ‘except like that’).

Let’s see, Greek myth related would pull in those Rick Riordan young adult novels (with a bit of underworld fun here and there); a different version of ‘the afterlife/not earth’ would pull in the Hot Damned series by Robyn Peterman, though that’d be MF (and includes vampires, demons, angels, Satan, Jesus, and Satan’s daughters – the seven deadly sins). But enough of that.

As noted, seventh book I’ve read by Wright, after a longish run of books I’ve rated three stars (the last of the Katya & Starbride series; the Viking book, and the science fiction book – technically they were not all 3 star books, but close enough to that for this paragraph), I’m happy I’ve found one I can rate 4 stars. Not sure of exact rating but ‘4ish’ seems to work for now.

September 14 2016