While I enjoyed the overall story and pace of the book, I wish the characters had more depth. That said, it is a debut novel and there is a lot the author can play with to write both prequels and sequels (a collection of short stories revolving around the main character's deep sea treasure hunting for example would be a must-read for me).
If you're looking for a fun mystery/adventure with an interesting plot and don't mind hanging with a new author while they find their voice, I would definitely recommend snagging a copy of this book. It would make for a very nice airplane or pool-side read!
( )

Book TW/CW: Death, Gore, Mention of rape

This book was right up my alley and was an excellent debut novel for the author. The story focuses on Jon Sherman, a deep sea treasure hunter who is yanked out of his normal life and is forced to fight for his life and the lives of those that he holds dearest against an evil entity that stalks their every move.

I truly enjoyed this book! It was very refreshing to see the "chosen one" trope applied to adults rather than kids and teenagers. The writing was very well done, especially in the action scenes, and the characters were very interesting and engaging.

All in all I really enjoyed this book and hope that the author makes this into a series.I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacted my review. ( )

The Swords of Blood and Gold by JCR Paulino is a fantasy mystery. Jon is a deep-sea treasure hunter, or he is until a nasty argument with his boss leaves him unemployed. Not long after, his ex-colleagues salvage five chests from the bottom of the ocean and are all murdered in a highly mysterious way. The police automatically start looking at Jon as a suspect, whilst the real killer, a supernatural serial killer, targets all of Jon’s loved ones.
I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Initially, I was intrigued by the concept of this novel. Deep-sea treasure hunting sounded like so much fun combined with mystery/thriller aspects and a touch of fantasy - sounds just like my cup of tea. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed.
Jon and Natalie, the protagonist and the love interest could have been such interesting characters. Jon had all his history at sea treasure hunting and in the rare moments that past showed itself, Jon was a brilliant character. However, half the time it felt as if ‘deep-sea treasure hunter’ was just a title tacked on. I had a real issue with Natalie; we were told that she was a lawyer and that her father was Jon’s boss. Unfortunately, these two facts never made it past that, facts. We were introduced to Natalie as the object of someone’s sexual desire and not much changed even as we got to know her. Any moment of brilliance she may have had was interrupted by her thirsting over Jon.
The plot was actually pretty good. I felt like it had decent pace and I definitely kept reading. It wasn’t the most unpredictable mystery, but I quite liked that. Chasing the real killer allowed JCR Paulino to explore different cultures and I liked how they were similar yet different. For something that was advertised as being about deep-sea treasure hunting, the actual treasure hunting was far too limited and I’d have liked to know a lot more about it, but I’m aware that including that may have slowed the pace of the mystery.
Overall, the book just ended up not being my cup of tea. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to read this book for free. It was a solid read, so I gave it three stars. ( )

Disclaimer: An electronic copy of this book was provided in exchange for review by the author, via Library Thing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Swords of Blood and Gold is an impressive debut novel from fantasy/sf writer JCR Paulino – a name you probably haven’t heard but should watch out for in coming years.

Listed as Book 1 of the “Supernatural Treasure Series”, Paulino has created a dashing protagonist in Jon Sherman, shipwreck treasure-hunter and basic good-guy, despite his frustration-fueled blowup in the first chapter that leads him to part ways with his boss and mentor, Alfred DuBois, over a long-simmering disagreement over priorities.

While Sherman is still fuming over the breakup and trying to decide his next move, he is stunned by news of a deadly workplace attack that has left every remaining Deep Blue Marine Exploration employee gruesomely slain inside their burning office building and a nearly simultaneous explosion that destroyed the company’s two boats. Paulino starts the juggling act here between a horrific real-world crime spree, being investigated by real-world cops, and the fantasy-genre reports – backed up by security camera footage – that a single masked intruder carrying a sword managed to hack 47 people to death in less than three minutes and casually stroll out of a building that was already bursting into flame.

Not surprisingly, on the real-world side, Sherman fits the role of “disgruntled ex-employee” and is quickly fingered by the cops as their prime suspect. While he’s playing cat-and-mouse with the police, who are trying to scare up enough evidence to serve a search warrant on his apartment, he’s contacted by DuBois’ daughter, Natalie, who is convinced enough of his innocence to want to join forces with him to find the real killer. Almost simultaneously, he’s contacted by the mysterious Mo Huang, a Chinese multi-millionaire who tells him a nearly unbelievable story about ancient, enchanted swords and a millennial-long quest for vengeance, which can only be ended if the second, missing, Sword of Gold can be found and recovered to counter the Sword of Blood being used by the masked killer.

Once all this set-up is in place (and it flows pretty seamlessly, in spite of the boatload of background and exposition needed), things really start moving as Sherman and Natalie put together an expedition to find an East China Sea shipwreck, retrieve a missing chest, salvage the Sword of Gold, and put an end to the bloody violence that is following them around as the masked swordsman continues his reign of terror. Caught up in a web of legends and lies, they travel to China, where the fantasy elements of the story continue to slowly reveal the ancient truth and to prepare Sherman for the inevitable confrontation.

Here’s where Paulino really lifts it out of run-of-the-mill territory. The battle, Sherman comes to realize, is not between Good and Evil. It’s between Justice and Love, because – as a 2500-year-old ghost tells him, the secret is to “love until there is no need for justice in the hearts of men.” Along the way, while Sherman is trying to puzzle this out, there are plenty of battle-scenes written with a nearly cinematic flair, and a developing love story.

This reviewer does have a few minor quibbles – hey, it’s always something, right? Paulino needs to learn the difference between foreshadowing and revealing his hand. There are a couple of “little-did-he-know” lines that flatly tell the reader a particular character is shortly going to be killed off, which sort of takes the suspense out of things. And there is an unfortunate description of a Lesbian detective that hits every note on the Butch scale. The character’s homosexuality does have a bearing on her actions in the book, but she comes off as little more than a cliché. The most annoying – and, again, it’s a pretty minor note – is Paulino’s constant compulsion to remind us that his hero and heroine are both drop-dead gorgeous. Once or twice would have been adequate; even better would have been to give each of them a teensy little flaw, mention it once, and then get on with the action.

None of these missteps, however, is so jarring as to interrupt the reader’s enjoyment of this rip-roaring adventure. Grab this one for a top-notch armchair adventure ( )

An exciting mix of action, mystery, myth, and romance fill the pages of this book. If you enjoy your men strong and your women stronger, this might be the book for you. The blend of modern day events with the thrill of history and myth, rife in treasure hunting is well balanced here. The delicate nuances used to describe two very different cultures without denigrating either one was much appreciated.

As for the pace of the story, it starts off well and just picks up speed as you go, until you can't put the bok down by the end. Between the action, character development, and romance, we end up with a well rounded story and cast. This is a story I am certain I will be thinking about, and in all the right ways, well after I've set the finished book down. A great summer read - heck a great anytime read!

I would like to thank both LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program and JCR Paulino Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )