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Super viruses that make people immortal, but not invincible. Wesley so happens to be one of those blessed/cursed with this condition that makes him one of the Children of the Yew. He outlives those around him, including friends and family. The events of the story begin when he meets up with a virologist daughter of a recently-deceased friend who helps garner insight into this mysterious condition and the even greater plot that surrounds it.

Torzillo is a confident storyteller of virology and senses of place. The pacing however is a whirlwind. Starts off slow, goes faster, and faster, and faster and leaves the reader breathless and gasping by the end. Moments of respite and human connection are absent, but here's a kitten! Everyone is a comical and random failure, the good guys and the bad ones, to the point where one of the characters putzed themselves into a door, George of the Jungle swinging into it. To say the least, I was constantly surprised, and the various incompetencies of the characters made guessing the outcome of the story a veritable dice throw of possibilities.

If you're the type who likes being left guessing and going on wild, unpredictable rides, this story is great. If you want consistent pacing and deep character interactions, this story isn't the best fit for you.

Second book of The Immortals of Light series. Can't quite talk a lot about the former without spoiling it, thus I can't really also talk about the plot so much in this review. I will note a few things without spoiling the series.

The Rapture is the quintessential middle. The first book introduces the team and the dilemma, and it's very clear that by the time the book is over, everything is on the line for the final novel. Most of this novel is Indiana Jones-ish, get-the-magical-artifact-before-the-bad-guys-do stakes. Yes, it does include the weighted pedestal trap thing. You can tell where Boudreaux got some of his inspiration from. And in knowing that, you will probably be able to determine if you're the right reader for this book or not.

The middle book is all about balance, and Boudreaux did this well. Action with reflection, toying and teasing with a love triangle, bits of lore here and there, playing its science fiction in direct support and conflict of its fantasy. There are some things I'd like more or less of, but that is because as a reader I swing heavily into science fiction. What I would like is for book three to come out faster and tie this series off with a bow. Because the one thing that infuriates me is epic cliffhangers! Book three, now, please!

Probably would consider this either a contemporary fantasy or an urban fantasy. Modern era premise, more emphasis on the contemporary/urban life struggles, though they are framed as a penance for not using blood magic, it's not really elaborated on. The fantasy element is more around the mythical entities that fade in and out of the story.

I suspect my reception of the novel is more in lines of "not my genre" than mostly anything else. A literal long decline towards the end that made me note it was a thing that happened, and the "gotcha" of one character's motivations didn't seem like a payoff for me. Plot wise is very bait and switch, to the point where almost anything I say is spoilers. What one would expect of the blurb isn't the prevailing theme. It's different in that regard, and at least it isn't predictable.

The primary POVs of the story are the LaLaurie family; Daniel, Jocelyn, and some Jared, with a few side characters mixed in. It's always interesting to see what part of the author shows up in which character. Jocelyn was very real and reflective of the LGBT experience, and if the POV was just attached to them the whole way through, I would have found this story to be exceptional. Unfortunately, it was mostly centered on Daniel. Daniel is victim uno of the story, thankfully not a "woe is me character," but he didn't generate enough interaction nor connection with the other characters (including the love interest) for not only me to be invested in him, but it also made me wonder why anyone bothered. At some point a character threw their life away for a man who essentially disregarded them as a myth, and continued to do so after the sacrifice was made. Thus my general issue with the novel was a lack of human connection and real human relationships in relation to Daniel. People sacrificed for a man who was uncompromising. Which is weird, because Jocelyn (up until the second half, when it was all about Daniel) was a true person, with moods and alliances and tentative romance and overshare.

My criticisms probably tie in with the genre of New Adult and anything sub-fantasy in regards to how relationships are portrayed. If you're into this genre, this is probably expected and even normal. If not, you'll be wondering why most of the characters are so invested in a person who does next to nothing to ingratiate himself to other people. But then we have people reading 50 Shades of Grey, so... I think you'll probably enjoy this more if it is your genre.

Aran is a kelpie/water horse shapeshifter and originally a servant to Poseidon, who has a new found family that he's torn about eventually leaving. Half of the story takes place in the present, and the other half is as reflections on past events, told in tales to his young sibling. Narrative style is that type of back and forth between present-ish and past, which is far better than an ugly prologue dump at the front but also not a narrative style I'm particularly fond of. Some like it, some don't. Reader preference there. I media res my own work, so take that note with a grain of salt.

In terms of items that will be liked: YA novella with Greek gods, shapeshifting ponies. Its length is low commitment, and the past portions cover the start to end in terms of plot/narrative pretty well. On the other hand: Present Aran is an 8000-year-old demi god who looks like he's 17, who is adopted by another shapeshifting family whose Mom is probably way younger than him, and Dad even more so. He sometimes gets into "territory" disputes for no real explained reason, especially since his territory was never the Pacific. And yeah, present has a bit too many plotholes. But he can become a pretty pony, gets wet and naked a lot, and... Don't get me started on the thing about the boat. Interesting angle but, it also created more holes.

Runte was very devoted and clear on the backstory, and that part is fleshed out well. The present is lacking, and almost exists as padding. I'd have liked to have seen that part built out, where it's a two to three chapters of present, then a juicy backstory chapter chunk, repeat. Makes the book longer, but the present needed the length, and a bit more plothole bulletproofing.

The United Commission of Planets sends an ambassador on a first encounter mission, to mostly infer the nature of Crustacea’s citizenry. An unenviable position given to Pilsen, a political louse. His single human companion on this excursion is war veteran and captain, Zip, who has seen far too many fights with giant bugs to really want much to do with this mission. But hey, it pays.
They meet up with Crustacea’s crab representative, Huron, and her not-shrimpy shrimp aid, Tom. But things go awry when the lobsters revolt.
Macaulay writes it very straight, despite how absurdist the concept sounds. The crabs got smart and big, and can communicate. Just go with it. Familiar in their humanity and their biology, alien in everything else. The cravings for crab legs and garlic butter diminish as the story goes on, once the denizens of Crustacea are formally introduced. Engaging, interesting read.
Highly recommended, and readable in a single sitting. Inexpensive and more satisfying than any experience at Red Lobster will ever be.