Dragon Noir by Cedar Sanderson

"Riding a charging rhino doesn't get any easier the second time."

And it is PRECISELY sentences like that which make it possible to write this review.
I received a pre-publication copy for review, which lets me in on the plot while the rest of you have to wait, which is a benefit, but on the down side, I have to be PARTICULARLY sensitive about spoilers.
But with Cedar's work, that's not going to be particularly difficult. What makes her writing stand out isn't the surprise when the Death Star explodes, because who knew Luke could do that with the Force, right? Yes, there are battles, both great and small. That's not a spoiler. Yes, here are creepy places with creepy villains which have to be, uh....crept through. And that's not a spoiler either. I promise you: you will get your adventure fix.
But with Cedar's writing, you don't have to wait until 'THE END' in order to enjoy yourself. It occurs to me as I write this that Cedar enjoys cooking, and so I have a nice little illustration of that ready for you. My gift-from-God, happily-ever-after trophy wife Vanessa, the elegant foxy praying black grandmother of Woodstock, GA, also enjoys cooking. And on the way to the final product (which at the moment is a chocolate cake made with coconut oil), there are all sorts of delightful moments involving sights, sounds, smells and tastes.
So it is with Cedar's writing. You get the throw-away humor of lines like riding a charging rhino. That's a great line, and it's not a spoiler, so there. You have no idea who is riding the rhino, you don't know the circumstances, and so it's not a spoiler. But it's still funny.
There are some very moving, may I even say heart-warming scenes as well. I had planned to include one in particular of them, but then I realized that there is no way to do that without revealing one of the major plot elements. So never mind. But how about this:

“She always had a garden.” He told me gruffly. “I used to tease her about her weeds, but it was pretty, and smelled good. I didn’t mind it.”

That's well written, evocative, and as close as I can get to giving you a taste of Cedar's work without spoiling your dinner.