Monday, October 24, 2011

I read this (Sept 16-30, 2011)

Fantasy

The Raven Queen by Jules Watson:  It should have been super interesting but the story was so bogged down by little details that it was kind of a chore to read. The pacing was off too. Every time I started getting involved, the storyline would jump. I'll try another by this author, hopefully it'll be better. 

Clementine by Cherie Priest (The Clockwork Century, short story): I think I am done with this series. I liked Boneshaker but each successive book I've read has gotten more and more boring. And there were ZERO zombies in this one. Zombies would have made this more fun.

Emergence by David Palmer: I more-than-liked this but less-than-loved it. Go read it.

Urban Fantasy

Under Her Skin by Jeaniene Frost, Ilona Andrews and Meljean Brook: Actually, I enjoyed all of these stories, which is pretty rare for an anthology. Of the three, Brook's "A Sheep's Clothing" was the best. Andrews' "Grace of Small Magics" was also good, and I would like to read more in this setting. I've only read one other (short) story by Frost and "Pack" was fun but not quite engrossing (even for a short story). None of these take place in any of the authors' previously established universes. 

Hexed by Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Galenorn, Allyson James and Jeanne Stein: I only borrowed this for the Andrews story "Magic Dreams" set in the Kate Daniels universe. It's a side-story for Dali and Jim. Good fun. Reading "Ice Shards" by Galenorn was a real chore and I don't plan on trying anything else by her. I started "Double Hexed" by James, but I quit when one character called another character (I'm paraphrasing here) a "tranny mess" and no one said jack about it. I don't give a shit if it's an enchanted mirror or a dragon or what-the-fuck-ever, that's a fucked up thing to say. I was so pissed that I didn't even bother trying "Blood Debt" by Stein.

Young Adult

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville: Kind of a cross between Neverwhere by Gaiman and the Fern Gully movie. I happen to like those two things, so a good time was had by all (namely, me).

Stargirl and Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli: A sweet coming-of-age story told in the first book by the dude-protagonist and continued by the lady-protagonist in the second. Both were really wonderful, but I felt kind of disappointed by the endings because even though they ended well, they didn't end where I wanted them to. 

Graphic Novel

Back on the Street by Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1): Uh, yeahno. I don't get the appeal. Also, Mr. Ellis, I am changing your name so I don't keep confusing you with Garth Ennis. Because I do this ALL THE TIME. 

Romance

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (The Ralstons, Book 1): Seriously, that is like THE WORST TITLE EVAR. It is trying way too hard. Anyway, this was a cute story, nothing extra-special. I had to look at the synopsis to remember what it was about but that's fine. I like fluff.

Turn It Up by Inez Kelley: Pretty sexy, friends-to-lovahs story. In this one, it's the dude-pro holding off on the sex to establish the relationship with the lady-pro, which is a nice change of pace, but I thought that the insistence on marriage (by the dude) was pretty harsh. He just told his lady-friend that he LOVE-loves her, as opposed to loves her and is pissed that she isn't on board 1-2-3? And the lady-pro's about-face on the baby-making was weird and unconvincing. I liked the book despite the issues. 

Deceived by Bertrice Small: Um, this was terrible, even for an old-skool romance. I haven't read anything by Bertrice Small before and this is probably going to be my only foray into her books.

The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley (Highland Pleasures, Book 3): Yes, yes, yes.

When Venus Fell by Deborah Smith: A interesting story with a prickly-but-likable lady-pro. The romance doesn't really start until late in the book, but it was a very nice read over-all. 

A View to a Kiss by Caroline Linden (Bow Street Agents, Book 1): Good intrigue and nice tension between the lady/dude. The dude leads the lady on (not in the usual way) and that isn't so nice, but I really enjoyed reading this.

Ransom by Julie Garwood (Highland Lairds, Book 2): The writing was occasionally a bit flat, but the story itself and the romance was nice enough to overlook it.

Captive of Sin by Anna Campbell: A really dark, emotional romance. The lady-pro is escaping from an abusive family and the dude-pro has PTSD and they both have to deal with the effects of that. Unfortunately, I think that the ending really undermined the strength of the story. It felt rushed and unrealistic. 

Unlocked by Courtney Milan (The Turners, short story): A really lovely story with the dude-pro redeeming himself of previous asshole behavior and the lady-pro learning to stand up for herself. 

An Unwilling Bride b Jo Beverly (Company of Rogues, Book 2): I don't really know how I feel about this. It starts off well, but the (serious*) issues between the lady-pro and dude-pro are resolved too quickly and without any real consideration. The last quarter of the book took an unexpected and unbelievable turn that made me sort-of sorry I read any of it. (*There is a violent encounter between the dude and lady that was not cool, not at all.)

Moonspun Magic by Catherine Coulter (The Magic Trilogy, Book 3): Nope, terrible, stay away. Gross dude-pro, silly lady-pro, EVIL TWIN. The evil twin thing is why I picked this up, but blech, both twins were assholes. The whole point of evil-twin stories is that one is a GOOD GUY and one is a BAD GUY. Not "one is a super-asshole" and "one is a moderate-asshole".

Ceremony in Death by J.D. Robb (In Death, Book 5): Meh is about as much excitement as I can drum up. It wasn't awful, it wasn't great. It's easy to read, sort-of entertaining and over quickly. 

Erotic Romance


Switch by Megan Hart: Normally, I quite like Megan Hart's books but Switch isn't one of them. It rubbed me the wrong way (har, pun) on pretty much all counts. The lady-narrator is NOT A NICE PERSON. Which, whatever, I don't need to be best friends, but she was terrible to pretty much every other character in the book. And a mega-douche-bag liar. And the sex was boring. BORING. I didn't think Megan Hart was capable a writing a boring sex scene, but there it was. Go read Broken instead, it's both one of the hottest erotic romances I've ever read and one of the saddest books (period) I've ever read.

Paranormal Romance


Maiden Flight by Bianca D'Arc (Dragon Knights, Book 1): God, this was awful on pretty much every level it's possible to be awful on. Terrible writing, flat characterization, boring plot, unbelievable romance, rote sex scenes. I finished it but only because it was short. 

2 comments:

  1. Warren Ellis has the far superior Twitter feed of the two. And I like Transmet! It's not a good book by any means, but I still like it.

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  2. Bah, the drawing squicked me out and Spider Jerusalem made me want to smash things.

    ReplyDelete