LesleyW's Book Nook

Darkship Thieves by Sarah A. Hoyt

2012-01-08T18:31:00.003+01:00

This is my first DNF of the year.

Plot summary as follows :- Athena Sinistra has to leave her father's space cruiser in a hurry when she wakes up in the middle of a mutiny. Taking refuge in a lifepod she is picked up by a Darkship - one of many that steal the power pods needed by Earth. The pilot of the ship - Kit - cannot return Athena to Earth, he has no choice but to take her to his home. However, Athena hasn't given up hope that she'll be able to get away and that's the one thing that Kit can't let her do.

I read a review of this on someone's blog, can't remember which one as it was quite a while ago now. And it sounded really good. Unfortunately when I came to read it I just couldn't get into it.

I think the main problem being that I didn't like the heroine and when a book is written in first person, that's a big problem. She's spoiled, arrogant and selfish and after 200 pages I just didn't want to read about her any more. Kit was a slightly more interesting character and I wish we'd been able to get into his head a little more.

It also felt like there was a slight disparity between the ages of the characters and what they'd accomplished. Athena was 19 (which might have explained some of her behaviour and immaturity) but she'd also packed an awful lot into her short life. I felt as if parts of the characters didn't quite match up. Hopefully there would have been some character growth and development after the point at which I stopped reading. I'm assuming that by having the characters start at an "unattractive" point, there is the suggestion that they will develop and grow by the end of the book.

But basically it didn't work for me. Maybe because one of my favourite books is Stardoc by S. L. Viehl which covers some similar themes and I couldn't help compare it unfavourably to that.

So, not one for me, but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who'd enjoy it. A quick word on the cover - I think it's meant to be the scene from the beginning of the book when Athena is rescued from the powerpod fields by Kit. I will point out that in the story she was in a lifepod at the time and not half naked in the vacuum of space.

Her Vampire Husband - Michele Hauf

2012-01-03T19:41:00.004+01:00

SPOILERS BELOW SPOILERS BELOW

Werewolf princess Blu has agreed to marry the vampire lord Creed (under duress) in a bid to end the hatred between the werewolf and vampire nations. Unfortunately neither of them are completely honest with their intentions going into the ceremony and rather than preventing a war, their relationship may trigger one.

I had a lot of problems with this book and really am torn between wanting to give it a D rather than a C-. But some of the dialogue just hit the spot, it's a pity that for most of the book the heroine had no consistency whatsoever.

I don't think this is an unfamiliar tale in a way - essentially it's a Romeo and Juliet - but the problem is that neither character is honest with the other. Neither of the factions have any intention of keeping the promises made at the wedding ceremony - which makes it hard to believe in the love they declare for each other halfway through the story.

I think the main problem I had was with the way that the heroine is written. She's either deliberately being written as an unreliable narrator for the first half of the book or she's just not being written with any consistency. I actually feel it's more the latter than the former. And because most of the story is written from her point of view, it makes it difficult to actually fall into the story.

She also behaves like a child for much of the first half of the book - she is so indignant when she finds out that the vampires didn't intend to stick to the treaty, but she's got no justification for that feeling really, because she knows full well that the werewolves have no intention of sticking to the treaty either. I find it hard to reconcile the character as written, with the experiences that we're told she's had later in the story. It's a pity because I feel there was a real opportunity here to write an incredibly strong female character, but that just didn't happen.

What's also a shame is that some of the dialogue is really sharp and cuts straight to the bone.

"I don't want to play the game anymore, Creed. I wish you could make it stop."

...and some of it is quite funny

"Intimacy bonds the couple."
"So does superglue."

If they'd sat down, talked to one another and been honest - after all they supposedly love each other - a lot of strife could have been avoided. But I guess that would have been a different story. I think if Blu had been written in a more powerful way I would have understood why she didn't talk. By powerful I mean showing the reader that wariness and caution underneath Blu's bravado, too often we're just told by the author how Blu is feeling.

I think Creed was written slightly better. You did get the feeling that he regretted his past deeds and was trying to make up for them. And his actions at the end make for the most powerful scenes in the book. Another reason why they felt slightly mismatched as a couple.

There are some things which I think should have been picked up, or at least queried in the editing process. For example, if your mind takes a 360 degree turn, it doesn't mean you've changed your mind, you've actually ended up at the same point you started from. And having a werewolf change be triggered by the last chime of midnight seems silly. What if the werewolf hasn't got a clock, what if the clock's wrong?

I think the second half of the book was stronger than the first. And though some of the characters and the premise were interesting, I don't think this is a series that I'd personally follow any further. I think it's worth checking out, but for readers that prefer a story to cut a little deeper it might be a bit light.

2012 Books Read

2012-01-02T19:39:00.000+01:00

Banned Books - 0/

M/M Books - 0/

Series Completion - 0/

Books Read - 1/

Her Vampire Husband - Michele Hauf

Review and Resolution

2012-01-01T16:11:00.002+01:00

Okay, I think we can all agree that in 2011 I pretty much sucked at both blogging, reading challenges and reviewing.

I read and finished a total of 8 books - way off target for 52 books in a year.

And that pretty much means I didn't meet any of my reading challenges. I love reading, so even if I wasn't blogging about it I'm not sure why I found it so hard to finish a book in 2011. All I can do is resolve to do better in 2012.

So I'm going to go back to concentrating on reviewing. No reading challenges for me in 2012 - other than to say that I'm going to do my best to read more than 8 books and I will have a tracking post. Also, I'm going to keep the series challenge page up - mainly because it took so long to write out and I really do need to keep track of which series I've finished and which I haven't.

I'm also introducing the DNF (which I lovingly read as DuNph). Up to now I've always tried to finish a book no matter what, but this year I'm not doing that. I think one of the things that has put me off reading is forcing myself to finish books that I'm just not enjoying. So no more.

I'm also going to write some posts about Worldbuilding, because probably the other major thing that is turning me off reading at the moment is sloppy worldbuilding.

So 2012 is going to be a brand new start.

Am I a Bit Thick?

2011-10-03T20:41:00.000+02:00

Please don't answer that question. lol

Does anyone know where you can buy Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews as a PDF?

I can find a kindle version on Amazon but I don't have a kindle.

Slither - Not a Book Review

2011-09-27T20:54:00.002+02:00

So I'm currently still reading Jim Butcher's Dead Beat - I hope to get it finished before the end of September...fingers crossed.

I will also be posting on DIK this week, will put a post here to direct you over there on the relevant day. :)

I watched Slither at the weekend, mainly because it starred Nathan Fillion. He was playing the same character he always seems to play but that was fine - that was why I was watching the film after all.

I just had this one doubletake moment when watching it. At one point in the film his character has the choice of whether or not to take a grenade when they go to kill the creature and he decides not to. It was just a complete Serenity moment. Which if you've never seen either Slither or Serenity is going to mean absolutely nothing.

But (just for fun) I put grenade, slither and serenity into google, and lo and behold the first thing that pops up is a reference to the coincidence on IMDB.

Oh Dear

2011-09-12T20:42:00.002+02:00

It appears that the last time I blogged was in June.

In my defense blogging is an easy habit to fall out of if you are not disciplined with yourself.

Okay, that doesn't sound like a very good excuse.

How about...

I moved house in July and have been slightly busy sorting that out. And in all that time I have managed to read about half of Jim Butcher's Dead Beat - so don't really have that much to blog about. Methinks I am not going to be meeting any of my reading challenges this year.

Also, it's not just blogger, I haven't been on the internet as much full stop. But have been spending more time in the garden as when I moved I acquired a pond and about 20 fish! They didn't make the move with their previous owner. I am currently counting success with the pond as - none of the fish have died yet.

Autumn is just starting in the UK and two trees overhang the pond, so will probably be spending more time out there of an evening, but will try to make a better effort to blog.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson (Not a Review)

2011-06-13T00:21:00.003+02:00

This is not a book I would have ordinarily picked up. I think apart from anything else, there's been so much hype about it, that I found it kind of offputting. But someone offered to lend it to me, so I almost felt obligated to give it a go, especially as they were so enthusiastic about it.

I'm not sure I could say I enjoyed the book, as I think that's the wrong word. (I've watched Wallander on the BBC - another series based on a Swedish crime thriller - and there's a bleakness to that as well. So maybe it's a Swedish thing?)

However, having said that I certainly found it compulsive reading and I couldn't really explain why, especially as for the first part nothing really seemed to happen. If anything, I think it was the prologue that pulled me in, I wanted to know who was sending the flowers. And I think I was also genuinely surprised by the identity of the killer - which doesn't happen that often, I have watched far too much CSI, Law and Order etc. etc. to be surprised on a regular basis. So it makes a refreshing change.

A lot of it made for uncomfortable reading. I think it's not just that it has a misogynistic feel, I don't think it's that complimentary to men either. But Lisbeth Salander is one of the most interesting characters I've read about in a long time.

* Head Desk *

2011-06-04T14:37:00.002+02:00

This will show you where my head's at, at the moment.

Back in December I pre-ordered Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews. Okay so far.

However, twice since then, I apparently pre-ordered it again.

I now have three copies, :(

Head hits desk!

The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks - Josh Lanyon

2011-05-10T22:45:00.004+02:00

Twenty-something artist Perry Foster returns home early from weekend in San Francisco to find a dead body in his bathtub. But by the time Perry has got help, the body has gone. Something mysterious is going on at the isolated Alton Estate, and Perry and his fellow housemate 'tall, dark and hostile' former navy SEAL Nick Reno get pulled into investigating the disappearing/reappearing bodies.

After finishing The Dark Tide I found I was still in the mood to read Josh Lanyon. Maybe I was going into Adrien English withdrawal. Anyway I had this particular book on my TBR shelf and I think it was a good one to read after completing the Adrien English books. And this one comes with one of my favourite tropes - a brainy beta paired with an alpha tough guy. It's written in third person with alternating points of view between Nick and Perry, so different to the Adrien English stories which are first person. This gives us a chance to get inside Nick's head as well as Perry's. Though I did find the change from first person to third, a little difficult to get into, to begin with.

Perry did remind me of Adrien in a way, though he's a little more vulnerable and less snarky. I loved the fact that Perry thought he could make the dead body disappear by turning the lift off then on again, though if that had happened it would have been a different kind of story.

One thing I found a little jarring was how Nick's attitude toward Perry changed, especially as we're inside his head. At the beginning of the story he's referring to Perry as 'the queer kid across the hall', initially Nick is very disparaging of Perry. You kind of wonder how these two are ever going to get together - there's an antagonism between them. And yet at the end of Chapter One, Nick is comparing Perry to Bambi. But I like the fact that they go from 'speaking different languages' to finding common ground. Perry goes from being 'the queer kid across the hall' to the 'cute twink' to...

I think it's more interesting (or at least different) to see inside both of the couple's heads. I think it makes you appreciate that there is a little more to Nick than just his abrasive attitude.

"He was mad about the dumb bird, he was mad about the dumb kid, and he was mad that he was being dragged into this mess."

It also allows you to see that Perry has a quiet determination all of his own. Though Nick is not convinced that this is necessarily a good thing.

He (Perry) seemed to have patience to spare; it encouraged kooks in Nick's opinion.

One of my favourite scenes in the book beautifully illustrates this - Nick is determined to teach Perry how to shoot, even though Perry has quite clearly stated that this is something that he doesn't want to do. I really like what is revealed about both characters during this scene, and it's all revealed without telling.

They start out as such complete opposites, Perry is a morning person, Nick is not etc. And it's not that they change, but rather that they find a way to fit - which I think makes for a much more interesting story. Nick is older but not necessarily wiser, and he doesn't always understand what Perry is trying to say.

Nick said..."Nobody can make you do anything you don't want to."
...
Perry said quietly, "People have all kinds of ways of forcing you to do what you don't want to."

Perry is more perceptive than Nick allows for, whereas Nick can be a little insensitive and blunt. I would love to know how their story continues after the book ends.

I'd be grateful for more Josh Lanyon recommendations to help me through my Adrien English withdrawal.

Reader's Evolution

2011-05-03T23:31:00.005+02:00

I'm reading Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones at the moment, and it's got me thinking about how and why we end up reading the books we do.

I think if I hadn't seen the film from Studio Ghibli, then I might never have picked this up. The only other DWJ book I'd read up to this point was The Tough Guide to Fantasyland. So far I am loving Howl's Moving Castle, I can see where the film is similar and where it's different. But I think the book more than stands on its own. But if it hadn't been for the film...

My reading journey has pretty much been - nonfiction (yes until I hit my teens my reading was probably 90% nonfiction) - category romance - horror - historical romance - urban fantasy.

I kind of love the way horror sits snuggly between category romance and historical romance. lol

And up until I hit my urban fantasy phase I was pretty much hit a genre and glom everything to the point where you're sick of it - probably why I read very little horror, cat. and historical romance these days. Although I now mostly read urban fantasy I have diversions from it, which is why I think I'm relatively faithful to UF - it's an open relationship.

If you asked me what kind of reader I am I'd almost definitely respond - "urban fantasy", though the truth is not that simple. Maybe 50% of what I read is uf, and the other 50% is an eclectic mix of YA, M/M, and other stuff which I think might be interesting.

So what kind of reader are you? And how have your reading tastes evolved?

Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger

2011-04-06T22:35:00.005+02:00

Almost Like Being in Love was m favourite book of last year. So it was with a little trepidation that I started Last Days of Summer. I knew it was a different sort of book to ALBiL, so I wasn't sure if I would like it as much.

Last Days of Summer tells the story of Joey Margolis - a young boy growing up in Brooklyn in the 1940's. A boy, who rarely, if ever sees his father. Joey decides he's going to write (maybe harass would be a better word) Charlie Banks - the third baseman for the New York Giants. Charlie doesn't exactly welcome the attention (at first) but Joey is nothing if not persistent.

This (like Almost Like Being in Love) is an epistolary novel. Told in the form of letters, transcripts, notes and school reports. Before I read ALBiL and The Color Purple, I never thought I'd enjoy this kind of story. I think it has its pros and cons. On the one hand you get to see a very personal side of the characters that you may not otherwise have, but on the other there are things that you miss out on seeing because the book doesn't have a conventional narrative. For example I would have liked to experience the first meeting with Charlie firsthand rather than through interview, but we don't get to do that.

I think what made the book especially poignant for me is the Authors Note at the end of the story (which I did read before beginning). And I think in a way that does play a little bit at the back of your mind and because of this you pay more attention to the relationship between 'fathers' and 'sons' in the story.

Whether you like the novel or not, will probably depend on your feelings about the character of Joey - I loved him. Charlie is not so enamoured of him at first:-

"You are beginning to make a mess out of my life."

Joey really gets under his skin - like a tick. I think that the point I started to fall in love with the book was on p.88 when Charlie sets some boundaries on their friendship. I especially liked rule number 9

9. You will alawys remember that you are probably somebody very special. I do not know this for a fact yet...

I like how these rules keep cropping up throughout the story, and get adapted as circumstances change.

If I had to pick two letters as my favourites. One would be where Charlie tries to answer some of Joey's big questions. And the other would be where Charlie gives Joey advice about women.

The writing is beautiful. There are so many bits that I could just quote, because I want to share them. The friendship that develops between them and how they stand up for each other is just wonderful to read. I think Joey initially sees Charlie as something of a challenge but eventually they become friends. For Joey, Charlie becomes the father he doesn't have. However, America is about to be pulled into World War 2 - which of course we as readers know, but the characters don't. So there is a sense of time running out, history moves on, no matter what. And eventually it catches up with them - Joey's Japanese friend Craig is sent to an internment camp, Charlie enlists and there is a sense of seriousness that wasn't there before.

"Joey listen to me. Everybody gets handed a rotten deal sooner or later and your just getting it out of the way early."

If I had any problems with the story, it would be the baseball references. Being in the UK I don't really understand them. I have a vague understanding of how the game of baseball works but not enough to decipher the few commentaries and stats sheets. However, I don't think it's necessary to be a baseball afficionado to enjoy the story. It's the relationships between all the characters that make the story work.

I would hightly recommend this story. It's funny and sad and touching and heartbreaking. I've always been of the opinion that if a story can make you really laugh or cry then it's on another level. It has really touched you and that's a rare thing.

The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon (Adrien English 5)

2011-04-04T23:02:00.005+02:00

The Dark Tide is the fifth and last book in Josh Lanyon's Adrien English series. And it keeps up the trend of Adrien inadvertently tangling himself up in a murder investigation. This time though, it's really not his fault...really. In the midst of renovating his bookstore a skeleton is discovered in the floorboards. When it proves to be over fifty years old, the case is handed over to the cold case squad. But Adrien's curiosity has been caught - could be something to do with the burglar who keeps breaking into the store - so he hires his ex-lover Jake Riordan (now working as a private detective) to investigate.

The Dark Tide opens shortly after the end of Death of a Pirate King (Book 4). Adrien has still not fully recovered form his heart surgery and is slightly resentful. His situation has changed and he's having to re-evaluate his life and he hasn't quite found his footing yet. I think this also explains why he's a little obtuse a little bit blinkered where Jake is concerned. He also has a new step-family who worry about him and who he worries about. He has old lovers popping up out of the proverbial woodwork and he has a fifty-year old skeleton in his floorboards.

What I loved most about this book is how Adrien and Jake have changed. Both characters have evolved over the course of the series. I think on a second read-through you'd appreciate more how Jake and Adrien are out of sync at the beginning of the book. Now Jake's out of the closet, he's mellowed a little. Whereas Adrien is more uptight - it's as if they're finally meeting in the middle.

All the things I love most about the series are here. Adrien's snarky inner voice,

I resisted the temptation to undo my apology by throttling her.

beautiful...

I wanted him so much, I could have cried. I wanted him now, and I wanted it to be three years ago when I had loved him without fear...

...and also brilliant dialogue:-

She summoned her patience. "I said perhaps this friend would be willing to act as your support partner."
"I don't think so."
"We never know until we ask."
"Sometimes we do."

And I realise how much I'm going to miss this series.

I also really like how Adrien has gone from being an only child, to having siblings. He doesn't have a perfect relationship with his stepsisters. But it's a very familial and loving relationship, with all the dramas that that entails.

I think this book ties up all the loose ends from earlier in the series but leaves it quite open as well. When I first finished the book I was a little uncertain about the ending. But having thought about it, I think it works, everything's resolved but it isn't all tied up with a nice pretty pink bow on the top. And I think it's better for that.

I've consistently said that A Dangerous Thing (Book 2) is my favourite Adrien English story. I think Jenre posted (possibly on my review of Book 4 or one of my other posts about this series) that The Dark Tide would change my opinion. And she's right. The Dark Tide is now my favourite Adrien English book and I look forward to re-reading the series again, in the not too distant future, reading it from the perspective of knowing how it will end. And I console myself with the fact that there are still many Josh Lanyon books for me to read.

Diana Wynne Jones Passes Away

2011-04-02T13:14:00.002+02:00

.
I didn't realise she had gone until I read it on one of my groups this morning. I feel like we're losing a lot of authors recently.

Guardian - Diana Wynne Jones Obituary

Maybe it just seems that way. :(
.

Archangel's Kiss - Nalini Singh (Guild Hunter 2)

2011-03-30T23:01:00.004+02:00

Archangel's Kiss picks up pretty much where Angel's Blood left off and for that reason this book is really not a good place to start with the series. This is definitely a case where you need to read Book 1 first. And if you haven't read Book 1 then you should probably stop reading this review now because it's probably going to contain spoilers.

In book 1 Guild Hunter Elena Deveraux achieved the impossible - she tracked down a rogue archangel. She tracked down a rogue archangel and fell in love with another, with the archangel Raphael. But in the process she was irrevocably changed. And in doing so she steps into a world more dangerous, more callous and more beautiful than any she could have previously known. Raphael and Elena are perhaps seeing their relationship from different perspectives.

'"Do you think you have the right to give me orders now?" "Of course. You are mine." "I don't think you've quite got the hang of this true love thing."'

Raphael is used to being obeyed without question. But Elena is not used to obeying without question. So their relationship still has a few rough patches to iron out.

For the most part Elena is a great UF heroine, tough but vulnerable. But she makes one stupid comment.

"Fighting is not sexual."

That's okay. She can say that, she can have that opinion. But then to immediately say on the next page...

"A blade this sweet is as good as sex."

Just makes her first comment look inane.

I love how Nalini Singh has managed to make the angels alien and the archangels completely alien. And she doesn't take the easy way out and soften that or humanise it. Except with Raphael where there's a reason for him to behave in that way.

I like the Guild Hunter series. I like the world-building, I like the characters that inhabit it and the way they interact with each other. But I haven't quite reached the point of loving it. I think perhaps it feels a little discordant, somehow not quite hanging together. The plot feels a little all over the place. Maybe this is intentional, maybe in a couple more books I will have settled into it, or maybe it will all start to weave together and it will give the books greater re-readability as you go back to find out what happened when and where.

But at this point it's not quite working for me, or maybe it would be more correct to say that some parts are working more than others. I feel like I can see that there is a major arc to the story which carries over between books, but it's the minor arcs in each book I'm struggling to sort out. In a way this feels like an in-between (bridging book) but it's only book 2, so that feels too soon in the series.

I think maybe there is too much happening - Lijuan's ball, the angel attempting to become an archangel, Elena's training, Elena regaining her memories, Elena and Raphael's relationship. Other little things are also snuck in there - Raphael offering to rescue the 'boy' vampire for Jason. Little things that I'd actually like to know more about. I wish either that it had taken place over more books or perhaps better that this book had had another 200 pages. Even so I find I am looking forward to finding out what happens in book 3. And I hope that the little hints I'm intrigued by will be developed further.

* And to the list of amusing typos we can now add this one. On p.51 of the UK copy is the line:-

His own hunger had turned his face acetic...

I don't think vinegar face is what we were quite aiming for here, maybe ascetic?

Unholy Magic by Stacia Kane (Downside Ghosts 2)

2011-03-28T23:18:00.005+02:00

Before I wrote this review I went back to look at my review of Book 1 of the series - Unholy Ghosts. I remember having some misgivings about the feasability of having a drug addict for a heroine. Most of these were laid to rest by the time I'd finished the first book. And any that remained have been banished by the end of this one.

Chess's complicated life is becoming even more complicated. As well as keeping her drug habit secret from the Church of Truth. She's now trying to keep the two men in her life - who work for opposing drug dealers - separate. She's also got a haunted house to investigate and someone is murdering prostitutes in Downside. It won't take much for this house of cards to come down.

I thought I'd start the series challenge with a series that comes highly recommended. And okay, it's nearly April and I'm only just getting going, but better late than never.

I think the Downside Ghosts series is the most original UF I've read recently. In this one, there's a little less focus on Chess's use of drugs and more focus on plot. I think having read Book 1 you accept that the drugs are part of her life. They aren't forgotten but there's not such a continual emphasis on them. I love the relationship between Chess and Terrible (he's her drug dealers enforcer) even when they are miscommunicating there's an almost palpable chemistry between them. I think they're fast becoming one of my favourite UF couples.

Chess doesn't trust her own judgement. She second, then third and fourth guesses herself. She argues round in circles in her own head. She wants to trust Terrible, but can't allow herself to. Considering they're both very tough characters, what's between them is a very fragile thing, and that's what makes it so fascinating to read about. But when she's in trouble, Terrible is the one she calls. As you're reading there's a sense of impending doom.

"Nobody could really know another person and want them, love them."

Chess has woven this elaborate web of lies through her life and it's almost inevitable that at least one of them is going to be found out. In a way it feels a little like self-sabotage.

"It was easy to be wanted by a man when he'd never seen the bad parts."

She doesn't believe that she can ever be happy or that she deserves happiness, so she subconsciously engineers the situation to prove herself correct.

We find out a little more about Terrible, some of his family circumstances. This is interesting, because apart from anything else it forces Chess to reevaluate how she sees him. And they start to open up to each other. It's tentative and fragile (sorry to use that word again) and you just have this horrible feeling that it's going to be squashed.

"He stared at her for a minute, like he'd never seen her before. Maybe he hadn't."

I think the most heartbreaking thing, is that it's apparent that Chess is starting to feel emotions that aren't connected to drugs. She's starting to feel that being alone all the time isn't a good thing. And it's her friendship with Terrible that helps to bring her to this realisation.

Over the course of the book, Chess grows as a character. Til at the end she's willing to risk everything, and it's not for drugs and it's not for her next fix. I'm very interested to see how she develops in the next book, because I'm finding the gradual reveal of her psyche one of the most compelling parts of the story.

I thought the mystery part of the plot - haunted house and prostitute murders - was well written. I found I was more interested in the Pyle's haunting, though I think this may be slightly to do with the fact that I didn't always completely understand what was happening with the murdered prostitutes.

I'm still not completely sure how this world works outside of where Chess is. I don't think this bothers me much whilst I'm reading. The insularity works well to emphasise the claustrophobia and paranoia of the life that Chess is living. This is one series I will be continuing with, and I hope there are many more books to come in the Downside Universe.

Skip Over or Skip to?

2011-02-23T22:44:00.002+01:00

A couple of weeks ago Kris posted a blog about 'Keeping Calm and Turning to Page 394'.

Now everyone else seemed to immediately 'get' that this meant turning to the end of a book to find out how it ends.

I'm not sure what it says about me - maybe that some of the books I read are 500 pages long? - but my first thought was that this meant skip to the sex scene. lol

Which brings me to the subject of my post.

Recently I've found more and more often that I skip over the sex scenes. Maybe it's because they all seem to read the same - cock, thrust, cock, nipples, channel, cock,...yawn! I seem to find the characters have more chemistry when they're not having sex, than when they are.

I can't remember the last really good sex scene I read. (Thinking hard about it, it was probably a m/m, either Jordan Castillo Price or Josh Lanyon, and that was a while ago).

Maybe it's because as soon as the characters get in bed (or wherever) that they suddenly stop being the characters and become just two bodies performing a mechanical act. I know the best sex scenes I've read, told you something about the characters, it wasn't just about the sex.

Anybody else feel the same? Or are sex scenes still working for you?

Sad News

2011-02-19T12:32:00.003+01:00

Very sad to hear that Perry Moore - author of Hero - has passed away.

Read the news on
After Elton.

It's stupid to say it I know, but I hate this, it makes me want to go out and kick and punch things in my back garden. Coming so soon (it seems) after the passing of another of my favourite authors - Jennifer Rardin. Both these guys took the time to comment on my blog, which is still such a wow factor for me!

Both fantastic writers who I'm sure still had many stories to tell.

Life just...it just sucks some times.

I guess we just have to appreciate the fact that although they're gone, they've left their wonderful stories behind.

My review of Hero can be found here.

Series Page Complete

2011-02-07T21:12:00.005+01:00

I was inclined to title this post - I want to hide under the duvet.

'Cause that was kind of the reaction I had when I finally finished typing up my
Series Catching Up Page.

It's just so big. (insert your own smutty joke here) (And it's not even all of the series, just the ones that I want to get caught up on most of all).

To be honest, now I've typed it up, it's kind of putting me off the idea. Not the idea of taking a huge chunk out of my TBR pile this year - that's still a given. But having a better idea of what a humongous task it's going to be to catch up on all these series - well it's starting to feel a lot more like hard work rather than fun.

So after I finish Archangel's Kiss (my current read, which I'm sure I would be enjoying much more if it didn't feel so much like homework), I'm going to pick a couple of the standalone books off my TBR bookshelf to give myself a bit of a break. Maybe a banned book, or maybe just one of the books that I don't remember buying.

Hopefully then, I'll feel a lot more like tackling the ginormity of the task ahead.

Winner of Your Wall is Made of Holes Giveaway...

2011-02-05T14:47:00.002+01:00

is

Sullivan McPig

And I didn't even have to go to random.org to pick a winner. Sullivan your copy of Real Vampires Have More Curves is waiting for you.

Your Wall is Made of Holes

2011-01-31T20:23:00.002+01:00

I start this post by admitting I wanted to title it - There's a Hole in Your Bucket - but I was kind of afraid that everyone would wonder why the content of the post was so different to the title.

After reading Anchored last week, it brought to mind something I'd read on one of the romance forums. (I have the feeling I may have posted about this before, so sorry if I'm repeating myself).

There was a discussion on this aforementioned board about a certain series, and someone posted that they'd really enjoyed the series and how solid the worldbuilding was, until they realized that the wall of this 'solid' worldbuilding was actually made of holes*. As soon as they realized this, they could no longer read the books because they no longer held together for them.

I think this is something different from 'jumping the shark', which is something that can happen very quickly:-

You read something in a story - OMG! - and the next sound you hear is the crash as the book hits the wall.

I think the 'wall made of holes' situation is something that can creep on you much more stealthily whilst you're reading. It can be a series of things that niggle at you and then just one too many tips you over the edge.

What's interesting is that those books which have jumped the shark for me - usually by killing off a character I was particularly attached to - I still have strong feelings (generally of hatred) for.

But the ones where I've realized that there's actually no substance holding them together for me - just complete apathy.

So has anyone out there had similar feelings about a book? Or are you more the 'I either love it or hate it type?'. I have a copy of Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlett, to give away to one poster to this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number on Friday.

* - and I've realized whilst writing this post that hole is one of those words that if you say it more than five times, it loses all sense of meaning.

Winner of the...

2011-01-28T22:32:00.002+01:00

Under the Influence giveaway is...

DL

She posted second and the number chosen at random.org was 2. I have a copy of Practical Demonkeeping waiting to be posted to you.

Anchored: Belonging (Book One) - Rachel Haimowitz

2011-01-26T20:51:00.003+01:00

Spoilers follow in this review.

Blurb - "Network news anchor Daniel Halstrom is at the top of his field, but being at the bottom of the social ladder—being a slave—makes that hard to enjoy. Especially when NewWorld Media, the company who's owned him since childhood, decides to lease him on evenings and weekends to boost their flagging profits.

...

He finds himself in the home of Carl Whitman, a talk show host whose words fail him time and again when it comes to ordering Daniel to bed. Daniel knows what Carl wants, but it seems as if Carl isn't willing to take it, and Daniel's not willing to give it freely. His recalcitrance costs him dearly, but with patience and some hard-won understanding, love just might flourish where once there'd been only fear and pain. Can Carl become the anchor in Daniel's turbulent life, or will he end up the weight that sinks his slave for good?"

I know this book is a favourite with a few people - one of the reasons I picked it up - but I had quite a few problems with it.

The good stuff first. I liked how Rachel Haimowitz gets the reader completely into Daniel's head. She puts you right there with him at every single moment. You understand his confusion when he arrives late to Carl's penthouse, and doesn't know whether he's allowed to go into Carl's bedroom, will he be punished for going in or for not going in. This is the major plus of the story for me. It's also what makes the gang rape so difficult and upsetting to read - it made me cry. You're right there with Daniel as he loses the one aspect of himself that he'd protected, the decision on when to say yes or no.

I think the total focus on Daniel also contributes to how little we know the other characters, because of his position he is unable to make much of an effort to get to know them. He has to know his place.

Onto the problems I had. Now I think most of these can be traced back to the fact that the book at 124 pages isn't long enough (for me) to deal with the themes and worldbuilding here. If it had been three times, four times as long, I think we would have ended up with a much more rounded story and stronger worldbuilding. Now I don't know how the series is going to progress, it may be that each upcoming book will slot in and we essentially end up with a longer book in multiple parts. But that doesn't address the problems I have with the characters and worldbuilding in THIS particular story.

Worldbuilding, superficially strong, but I found the more I looked at it, it just wasn't working for me. I was quite happy with it up to a point. Carl reads The Washington Post, The New York Times, so this is a world like our own but NOT our own. It has a different history and at some point it became acceptable to keep slaves. I feel like I've missed something somewhere.

Then Carl asks Daniel his opinion about Mugabe in Zimbabwe and I was thrown completely out of it. Because if Carl can comment on Mugabe and the problems in Zimbabwe - reference riots and massacres. Then as a reasonably intelligent human being why can't he see the hypocrisy in feeling able to comment on the policies of another country but not his own where gang rapes and torture are an acceptable means of dealing with people.

It's also then that I realised I didn't really understand how this world worked. Was the slave system only operating in America? Daniel mentions about wanting to run away to Scandinavia - how he'd tried to run away whilst in Denmark and how he dreams of flying away to Sweden. So presumably - at least in Scandinavia, if not Europe - there's no slave system.

If all the previous history still led to Mugabe being in power in Zimbabwe. What happened to the civil rights movement in America? I ended up feeling like the world the characters lived in, had no solidity to it.

I think if the world the characters inhabit doesn't feel real, then the characters lose believability as well. Why was Foster such a villain? Just because he can be? Presumably Carl has lived in this country all his life, why couldn't he appreciate what would happen to Daniel when he complained about his behaviour? He's a journalist with an interest in politics. How could he be so naive?

Finally, the ending, again I take problems with this back to the fact that the story is too short. The ending especially (for me) needed to take place over a much greater period of time. The gang rape and the torture which (no matter how disturbing they are*) are an incredibly powerful piece of writing, lose that impact, that sense that Daniel has totally lost any sense of self he might have had, because it is wrapped up so quickly and easily at the end. I don't believe in Daniel's recovery.

This was a flawed story for me. Some of the writing was amazing, getting us into Daniel's head and holding us there, was very well done. But it's the problems that have stayed with me.

* - I also take issue with Noble Romance's warning for the book - "M/M, forced oral and anal intercourse". I don't think this is really a strong enough warning. The one at GoodReads is better - "WARNING: This book contains potentially triggering subject matter, including a violent on-screen rape. Please take heed.)"

Under the Influence

2011-01-24T19:26:00.003+01:00

Last week, or possibly the week before...okay the week before, geez it's been a while since I posted...DL posted on the DIK blog about how she'd been inspired by the BDB series to learn American Sign Language. You can read that post by clicking here.

It got me to thinking if I'd ever been inspired to try anything or learn anything that I'd read in a book.

For some reason I had this niggling feeling that I had.

:blushes:

Then I remembered. I wish it had been something as interesting or as worthy as learning ASL, but it was not. In one of the Weather Warden books Rachel Caine wrote this yummy description of the Omnia perfume by Bulgari. I think she might have used the word chocolate. Of course, Omnia isn't sold in any of the local shops, I think in the end I tracked a bottle down online. I think it has a very nice smell but a bit heavy, not one I'd recommend if you're prone to migraines.

I still have this feeling though, that there's something else I've done/tried/attempted and failed at, after first reading about it. But I've obviously scrubbed the experience from my memory and replaced it with something less traumatic.

Anyway just wondering if you'd ever been inspired to try anything from what you'd read in your favourite fiction? I have a copy of Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore to give away to one poster to this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number on Friday.

Reading Resolution for 2011

2011-01-18T01:13:00.004+01:00

Whoops, I appear to have lost the first two weeks of January.

Having managed to read only 36 books in 2010 I have decided not to buy* any new books in 2011**.

At my current reading speed it will take me approximately ten years to get through my TBR pile. I think I need to make a serious dent in it before buying any more new books.

Obviously this is going to slightly limit how well I do in my series completion challenge but in most cases I have the next three or four books of most series on my TBR pile anyway. (Plus see *). Also it's going to be something of a challenge to stick to not buying books anyway, but I'm determined to give it a go.

* - Of course this doesn't include when I receive book vouchers or receive books as presents. :) (And luckily I won the DIK reading challenge so have a voucher stashed away for when the new Ilona Andrews/Patricia Briggs/Seanan McGuire/other favourite author is released this year).

** If I crack, which I likely will at some point, I'll be honest and post about it. But two weeks into January my intention is to clear as many shelves as possible on my TBR bookcases.

2011 Challenge Post

2011-01-02T13:39:00.009+01:00

Banned Books Challenge - 0/

M/M Challenge - 3/15

Anchored: Belonging (Book 1) - Rachel Haimowitz
The Dark Tide - Josh Lanyon
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks - Josh Lanyon

Series Completion Challenge - 3/
Unholy Magic - Stacia Kane (Downside Ghosts 2)
Archangel's Kiss - Nalini Singh (Guild Hunter 2)
The Dark Tide - Josh Lanyon (Adrien English 5)

52 books in 52 weeks challenge - 7/52

Anchored: Belonging (Book 1) - Rachel Haimowitz
Unholy Magic - Stacia Kane (Downside Ghosts 2)
Archangel's Kiss - Nalini Singh (Guild Hunter 2)
The Dark Tide - Josh Lanyon (Adrien English 5)
Last Days of Summer - Steve Kluger
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks - Josh Lanyon
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

Knitting/Crochet Projects - 0

Hmmm. It seems that despite intending to do fewer challenges this year, that I've somehow ended up doing more!

In my defense the Banned Books and Series Completion challenges are more personal goals. And the Knitting/Crochet projects is just so I've got somewhere to track how much stuff I make.

I wasn't going to do any 'proper' challenges. But after seeing that the m/m challenge is running again this year and after failing in 2010, I decided I'd have another go this year. (And if DIK did another challenge I'd probably join in on that as well).

(Also I'm thinking of attempting to do a Page for the Series Challenge as I think it will make it easier to track. Hopefully I won't bugger up the blog if I do this.)

Methinks 2011 is going to be a bit of a mad year!

DIK Challenge - Death of a Pirate King by Josh Lanyon

2010-12-31T20:49:00.003+01:00

So we come to my final review of the year - just squeezing in there. It's the fourth in the Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon - Death of a Pirate King. Two years have passed since the end of The Hell You Say. Adrien hasn't seen Jake, (though Jake has seen Adrien) and he is now involved in a relationship with Guy Snowden. Adrien's first book has been optioned for a movie and during a Hollywood party one of the guests is murdered. Adrien's life being what it is, of course Jake is one of the police officers called to the scene. And when producer Paul Kane asks Adrien to unofficially look into the case, Adrien finds he cannot refuse, even if it means being thrown back into proximity with Jake...

I now have to reorder my favourite Adrien English books. This still doesn't top A Dangerous Thing for me, which remains my favourite book of the series. But I think this comes in a close second. (Followed by Fatal Shadows and then The Hell You Say).

Adrien - his usual sarky, snippy self (I love how the opening paragraph gets you straight back into Adrien's head) - is a little more petulant in this one. Possibly because he's recovering from pneumonia and his heart is causing him more trouble than usual. I think on a re-read you'd definitely pick up on what's being said between the lines when Jake and Adrien are talking. In some cases it felt like Jake was saying one thing and Adrien was hearing what he wanted to hear. But considering how they left things two years ago, you can't really blame Adrien for the assumptions he's making.

Two years have passed and I think Jake has changed (I am kind of rooting for him, I know not everybody does). For instance he does say this (one of my favourite lines)

"Listen, I know you think I'm an asshole - I am an asshole..."

And I don't think he would have said that before.

Previously I think they had great chemistry but were not at the right places in their lives to meet up relationship-wise. Now although things have obviously changed in Jake's life, Adrien is not at the right place, I don't think he's forgiven Jake for what he did. He still thinks he's dealing with the 'old' Jake.

I wasn't in the mood for chitchat - and I didn't remember it being Jake's style either. At this rate he'd be asking about my mother and I'd bounce my juice glass off his head.

I think because of the way Paul Kane manipulates Adrien, he is more susceptible to making assumptions. Jake is in a way to blame as well because he chooses not to explain himself. Which is his right, he and Adrien aren't together, but I think if you hadn't read the previous three books it may leave you a little frustrated thinking - just talk to each other. Whereas being aware of their previous history you know where the attitudes are coming from.

I love how the Adrien's relationships with his now extended family are developing, and especially like the newest member of the group - the Book Store cat. (And Adrien's impromptu Dr. Seuss impression).

I thought towards the end, we slipped a little towards melodrama. But hey, a little melodrama never hurt anyone. And I think at the end the stakes needed to be raised really high. One of my favourite endings to a story this year. Kind of cliffhangery but also perfect.

Book of 2010 and Challenge Review

2010-12-30T00:21:00.002+01:00

I read my book of 2010 way back in January. And it is...

Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger

And looking back on my review, it makes me want to grab my copy and read it again. I think this was one of the best things about taking part in the DIK challenge, the opportunity to read books that might otherwise have passed me by.

On the challenge front, I haven't done so well.

DIK Challenge - 11/12 - currently reading my twelfth book for the challenge, review to be posted before the end of the year.

M/M Challenge - 15/20+ I think I was overambitious on my target for this one. (Have one more to add as my last DIK book is m/m but I'm not going to make this challenge.

52 Books in 52 Weeks - 35/52 - Again one more book to add, but I'm nowhere near hitting the 52 mark.

Will be doing the 52 book challenge again next year, hopefully will at least get more than 36 books.

M/M Challenge, Lord of the White Hell (Book 2) - Ginn Hale

2010-12-27T12:10:00.000+01:00

So Book 2 pretty much picks up from where Book 1 ended. Kiram and Javier resolve their differences and Kiram continues his efforts to discover a way to break the curse that pursues Javier's family. But 'the man on the hill' is not going to sit idly by whilst that happens, and soon Kiram's friends and family are put in danger, as Kiram and Javier make a final desperate bid to set things right.

Book 2 is quite unusual in a way, in its formatting. For quite a bit of the book we come away from the Academy and the need to free the Tornesal line from the curse, as Kiram's first year at the Academy comes to an end and he returns to his home. The pacing slows down as we learn more about Kiram's family and culture, and in some ways we lose sight a little of the evil forces acting outside the Anacleto district. It's almost like it's a little cocoon of safety, a brief respite from the evil. But that's all it can be, as the 'man on the hill' will not be satisfied until he's taken the white hill from Javier.

I think it would have been harder to make this work as one book (putting Books 1 and 2 together). The increase in tension in Book 1 is steady, then in Book 2 it drops away, only in the last part to come flooding back as events take on a momentum of their own.

One thing we do get here, because we are away from the Academy for a lot of the book is a deeper insight into Kiram as a person. Partly because we see him away from Javier, and also because we see him through the eyes of his family. I think in particular it is his older brother Majdi who sees Kiram most clearly.

Majdi sighed heavily. "Sometimes you're so smart that it makes you stupid."

Though Kiram may be able to fool the other members of his family for a while, Majdi sees straight through to what Kiram is trying to hide. I also thought it illustrated very well how young Kiram still is, even through all he's experienced. He's grown up a lot, but he's still a little too cocky at times and fond of making assumptions. I especially liked how Ginn Hale shows us that family dynamics can have the effect of reducing you to behaving like a child.

This could have been quite a dark book, which I think maybe is another reason we have the interlude in Anacleto (the Haldiim district). It gives us not only the opportunity to see how different Haldiim culture is to Cadeleonian culture. But also gives us some moments of humour and my favourite exchange between Javier and Kiram in the book.

"...ask him why he didn't leave anything for me." There was only a trace of hurt in Javier's tone but Kiram responded to it immediately.
"What? But I did - " Kiram stopped as he caught Javier's smug expression. He scowled at Javier. "I left a fart on your pillow."

In a way the relationship between Javier and Kiram doesn't feel as much the focus here. They are both going through their own crises, it would be nice to be able to see where they go from the end of the story. I have a feeling that both they and their relationship is going to have to mature very quickly. I wonder if we have Rafie and Alizadeh as a kind of example as to where Kiram and Javier will end up.

I must briefly mention the character of Elezar - one of the Hellions and Nestor's older brother. (Nestor being Kiram's best friend). He's quite a sad character. And Ginn Hale doesn't give us an awful lot about him, just these tiny little insights, for example when Kiram sneaks into his room to leave a Solstice present and we discover his secret. Elezar is not a subtle character, he is not a subtle man, but Ginn Hale is subtle in the way she reveals his feelings. And I do find myself wondering if Nestor knows, just something he said about his brother towards the end.

I think Lord of the White Hell (Book 1 & 2) is one of my favourite stories of the year. I love how Ginn Hale (in her writing) is able to make the story complete in itself and leave you satisfied with what happened, but she also leaves you ready to learn more. She leaves you knowing that there are other stories to be told, which I think is an incredible gift for any writer to give a reader. And I look forward to seeing what she will be doing in 2011.

DIK Challenge Not a Review

2010-12-26T13:39:00.002+01:00

This is not my December post for the challenge. But it seemed to me that there were a lot of books that wouldn't be chosen for review over the course of the year. And it would be nice to mention at least one of them.

So Lea chose as one of her books for the island, the Love Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare. So I'm including below two of my favourite sonnets. Sonnet 94 because I love the the imagery and the way the last lines just cut, and Sonnet 116 because, well just because:-

Sonnet 94

They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow,
They rightly do inherit heaven's graces
And husband nature's riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence.
The summer's flower is to the summer sweet,
Though to itself it only live and die,
But if that flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

DIK Winter Giveaway

2010-12-19T23:24:00.004+01:00

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If you haven't already heard about it. There is a DIK Winter giveaway from now until 2nd January. Details at the linked DIK post.

DIK Winter Giveaway
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Reading Challenges for 2011

2010-12-18T23:39:00.002+01:00

There's still a few days of 2010 left so I'm not going to blog about my success (or lack of) with my 2010 challenges just yet. But I am thinking about the reading challenges I'm going to tackle for 2011.

I'm definitely going to try the 52 books in 52 weeks again. I think the chances of me getting there this year are slim, though I won't stop trying until December 31st. And it is a challenge I'd like to win at least once. If for no other reason than to get tackle my TBR pile.

Also if there's a DIK challenge for next year I'll be giving that one a go as well.

But the following are going to be new challenges for 2011.

Banned Books Challenge

I'm going to make a concerted effort to read more books from the banned books list next year. I say I'll do this every year and never do, so it's making the reading challenge list for next year. I'm doing it from the 2000-2009 top 100 most challenged list.

So far from that list I have read:-

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Not exactly a flying start. If I can get my total into double figures I'll be very pleased.

Series Completion Challenge

I'm not going to do a list here - I'm saving that for January - but my other big challenge for 2011 is to catch up with as many series as possible. This should certainly help with my 2011 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.

M/M Challenge Review, Lord of the White Hell (Book One) - Ginn Hale

2010-12-15T22:00:00.004+01:00

Blurb - Kiram Kir-Zaki may be considered a mechanist prodigy among his own people, but when he becomes the first Haldiim ever admitted to the prestigious Sagrada Academy, he is thrown into a world where power, superstition and swordplay outweigh even the most scholarly of achievements.

It's there that he meets Javier Tornesal, Duke of Rauma, the leader of a group who call themselves The Hellions. But Javier is no ordinary student. He wields a power known as the White Hell, and his family line is pursued by a curse that cannot be beaten. Kiram is drawn to Javier but a relationship between them is forbidden by Cadeleonian law. However, there are some things that are worth the risk.

I really like the way that Ginn Hale writes. Her worldbuilding is particularly beautiful, she has a way of making people and places come alive on the page. And I think she balances very well, the small touches of humour against other serious or saddening situations.

Kiram is interesting as a protagonist. He's seventeen years old, so especially at the beginning of the story, he still reads as a little young, a little immature, he's quite rigid in his beliefs.

"So long as he wasn't insane or sick with black pox I wouldn't be afraid to sleep in a room with any man," Kiram replied. It wasn't entirely true - certainly he wouldn't want to sleep in a room with a thief or murderer or, honestly, a man who stank terribly..."

He has these statements of certainty which he then is almost immediately qualifying in his own head.

It's very interesting to see how his character grows over the course of the book, how he moves from the certainty of innocence towards experience. I think he still has very strong beliefs but comes to see that there has to be some flexibility.

Javier on the other hand is almost a force of nature. A very nice contrast to the more reserved Kiram. Kiram tells it like it is, whilst Javier I think is a little more manipulative and he can get under Kiram's skin.

Kiram tried to sound firm despite his embarrassment. "I'm not one of the whores at the Goldenrod whose body you can buy with a few pennies."
"No, you charge much more and put out far less."

If Javier tells the truth it might not be the whole truth. And he can cut with his words.

I think one of the main reasons the book works so well is because Kiram and Javier don't exist in a vaccuum. The world feels real because all the characters feel like real people. Kiram's family - his uncle Rafie and his uncle's partner Alizadeh who represent the Haldiim way of life that Kiram has kind of become separated from. (I would love to read about their early experiences, I think there are lots of stories there).

Kiram's best friend Nestor - who might not be the best Cadeleonian student at the Academy, but he is a good and loyal friend to Kiram. The Hellions who hang about with Javier, and Javier's cousin Fedeles who suffers under the family curse. The relationship between Javier and Kiram develops with these internal pressures, both Kiram and Javier are cautious about the relationship in their own way and for their own reasons. Whilst Javier can be demonstrative when the two of them are alone, when they are out in public he cannot do that. But there are also external pressures, from society, family and friends. And Book One ends with these pressures having reached an almost inevitable crisis point. So I highly recommend, that, like me, you have Book 2 ready to go.

If I had any complaints it would be that in a few places the editing slips up a little. But that is such a minor complaint in the face of the overall story being so good.

I very much look forward to reading what Ginn Hale writes next, whether that's more from the world of Wicked Gentlemen or from the world of the White Hell.

I Could Care Less

2010-12-14T22:49:00.002+01:00

Just finished Lord of the White Hell Book One, which I loved. I'll be posting a review - hopefully tomorrow. However, on the last page there's a phrase that makes me wince a little. I guess it's a UK thing. Javier says

"You could give a shit about the academy."

Which immediately makes me think about a certain David Mitchell Soapbox episode which for your viewing pleasure I've attached below. :)

To Be Spoiled or To Not Be Spoiled?

2010-12-12T01:07:00.003+01:00

Usually that would be a simple question for me to answer. I'd choose 90% of the time not to be spoiled. So 9 out of 10 times I choose to remain in blissful or not so blissful ignorance.

However I've just read the Dear Author review of the next Black Jewel's book by Anne Bishop - Twilight's Dawn.

Dear Author - Twilight's Dawn Review

And I think on the whole I'm glad I read it, I'm glad I got the heads up.

(I interrupt myself to add here that I enjoyed the recent novels that featured Lady Cassidy and I think I'd hoped there would be more books set in that situation, with maybe less focus on the main Black Jewel characters and more on the Shalador characters.)

Twilight's Dawn is an anthology along the lines of Dreams Made Flesh - one of my favourite comfort reads. But I don't think I'll be picking TD up. It sounds a little to me like the Black Jewels books have jumped the shark. I could be wrong, it's only one review and the book isn't released until March. Maybe I'll wait and see what other review sites have to say before picking up a copy.

But I'm glad that I haven't gone my usual route of pre-ordering the hardback.

Be warned if you read the review it contains MAJOR spoilers.

A Local Habitation - Seanan McGuire

2010-12-08T22:06:00.002+01:00

October (Toby) Daye is the only Changeling to earn a knighthood. Now her Duke (Sylvester) has asked her to go and check on his niece - Countess January O'Leary - who he has lost contact with. It seems like an easy enough job, but someone is killing the inhabitants of January's County. Getting into the County of Tamed Lightning is going to be much easier than getting out.

I loved this. Not quite as much as the first in the series, but it's definitely one of my favourite books of the year. October is an imperfect heroine. She makes mistakes, she's obtuse about some things. I think she wants to do the right thing, though, but she knows that that can come with a heavy price.

I don't think there are many books where you'll read the sentence.

California banned all smoking in bars while I was still busy being a fish.

So many things I love about the way this series is written. The unique setup, the way the Shakespearean elements are woven into the plot. Also this time a Wizard of Oz quote as well (I think).

Plus the relationship between Tybalt and October.

"You're drunk, October."
"And you're wearing really tight pants." I paused. That hadn't come out right.

Tybalt shipper here, I so hope that October and Tybalt are going to end up as one of my favourite UF couples. He is SO much smarter than Connor.

What I particularly liked about this book is how the world of Faerie is fleshed out more. We got a lot about October's personal circumstances in the first book. And I think here we pull back a little, but see the world through the particular microcosm of Tamed Lightning. There are rules for almost every situation e.g. if you name something it's yours, not saying thank you. We also see how the Fae don't think in the same way as humans.

"Where did you find her body?"
"In the cafeteria."
"The cafeteria. The cafeteria where you left us alone?"

And I think towards the end October comments how although the Fae are immortal, they are like children, always looking for the next game. That they never quite learn to be adults.

The mystery itself was intriguing. You want to know why these things are happening and why they're happening to these people. Plus I think it will hold up very well on a re-read, perhaps be even better on a second read through, because you'll pick up on the relevance of certain things that may not have initially seemed important. For example, the Luidaeg's warning at the beginning will make more sense and I think play more in the back of your mind.

Fair warning, have some tissues ready for the ending. It had me sniffling twice, both instances involving January's adopted daughter April.

I had a couple of little problems - and I'm probably going to be overly vague here but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read the book - they're really minor so feel free to skip this paragraph if you want. I felt that there was a question that October should have asked almost as soon as people started dying. But she didn't ask it until over half way through the book. Now I'm not sure if this was a politics thing - in that October couldn't ask the question until she did - but it seemed like an obvious investigative thing to do and she didn't do it. The other thing was to do with Colin the Selkie, it felt like there was a plot (not hole it wasn't that deep) depression and it just niggled at me whilst I was reading, I kept thinking but...but...but.

I already have An Artifical Night on my TBR pile. October Daye is one of my favourite urban fantasy series and I hope there are many more books to come.

Underground by Kat Richardson

2010-12-02T23:27:00.003+01:00

Third in the Greywalker series by Kat Richardson, Underground finds PI Harper Blaine trying to find out why Pioneer Square's homeless are turning up dead. Or worse, why they are turning up as zombies. The deaths are not random, and finding the pattern that links them will lead Harper to a confrontation with an ancient monster that may be too much for her to handle on her own.

I think if this story had a theme it would be the difference between belief and appearances. It kind of runs all the way through the story. Not just the monster, but Harper, Quinton, the homeless people that Harper is trying to help, Albert the Ghost. They can all appear to be one thing but are something else.

I have to admit it's been a while since I read Poltergeist (Greywalker #2) but I do remember that I liked Quinton and hoped he would make a more significant appearance in future stories, and it seems I got my wish. And luckily for me the prologue pretty much takes care of the backstory. It's probably been even longer since I read a UF/PI book, so this makes a more than refreshing change.

Two things to mention here before I get on with the review.

This book has a Ferret score of 1

This book has one of the most frustrating (for me) things. And it seems trivial to mention it but it gets under my skin whilst I'm reading and annoys like a very annoying thing. Every time a character says 'Okay', it is typed OK. Maybe I find it annoying because capitalisation is associated with shouting?

Okay :), niggle over.

The Greywalker series is a little heavier than most of the urban fantasy I read. There's a distinct lack of light moments to balance the dark. It's quite melancholy storytelling and as a heroine, Harper comes across as a little cold, or maybe it's just that she sees the world in a completely different way to everybody else. This difference bleeds through in her attitude towards other people and Will her previous boyfriend isn't capable of handling it.

In fact she doesn't have the most welcoming of attitudes, so it helps that Harper is quite the sarcastic heroine and that Quinton (unlike Will) is not scared off by the appearance of zombies.

"I admit I hesitated. Once again, I'd have to deconstruct a zombie in front of a man I liked. The last one hadn't handled it very well..."

It's intelligent UF which I like but I don't think it's for everyone. If you like your heroines kickass and wisecracking every other paragraph you may not get on too well with the Greywalker series. Harper is more quietly caustic and she has a bum knee. That doesn't mean that she is in anyway a walkover, but she figures things out in her own way.

The mystery I think I would appreciate more on a second read-through. I think it would help to have a better idea of what was going on. To be more aware of the motivations of certain characters. This isn't a book I would recommend if you haven't read the previous two, I personally wish I had read it closer to finishing Poltergeist. It isn't my favourite of the Greywalker series, but it also hasn't put my off either. It's not so common to find a UF/PI story where the two genres are as well balanced as here. So this will definitely be on my Series Challenge list for next year.

DIK Challenge Review, M/M Challenge Review, The Hell You Say by Josh Lanyon

2010-11-30T22:27:00.004+01:00

This is the third book in the Adrien English series and is my DIK pick for November (chosen by JesseWave and Lisabea). In this installment Adrien must contend with a mysterious Satanic cult who have their hooks into his bookstore assistant Angus. And his relationship with cop Jake Riordan is once more on the rocks. On a more positive note, Christmas is coming (so it's kind of an appropriate book for the time of year), his mother is getting married again and he's gaining three stepsisters. Life is never boring for Adrien.

I really like the Adrien English mysteries but this is not my favourite of the series so far - that's number two. Maybe it's the lack of Jake (please don't gang up on me, any Jake haters out there).

Whilst I found the mystery interesting, what I liked most about the story is how Adrien is thrust into his new family dynamic. He's now got three stepsisters who are something of a (telepathic) force of nature. Adrien is quietly overwhelmed. He's suffering through family get-together's and Christmas day with them, having to make the awkward transition from only child to sibling. They just won't take no for an answer.

Meanwhile his relationship with Jake slowly disintegrates, which is quite painful to read about. It has an almost unstoppable quality. There are little signs, little niggles leading up to the inevitable conclusion. The strain of being out whilst Jake is firmly in the closet.

...he asked, "What did you tell them?
"I told them we were friends. I lied. That's what you want, right?"

It's a book where things fall apart, whilst other things come together. Very good subjects for a middle book to tackle.

The main thing that keeps me reading this series is Adrien, possibly one of my favourite characters. He's sarcastic, speaks when he shouldn't, is vulnerable yet stands up for himself.

..."I'm not involved in a serious monogamous relationship."
I was, but it was apparently a solo effort.

He has a way of putting things, that cuts straight to the heart of them.

This is one series that I'm not waiting until next year to finish. DIK Challenge book for December will be another Adrien English mystery. :)

Back on the Book Buying Wagon (Very Temporarily)

2010-11-28T17:22:00.002+01:00

So yesterday I was in Birmingham - Christmas shopping. And I somehow (lol) found myself in Waterstones.

The store has a pretty darn good Urban, Sci-Fi and Fantasy selection. (I was quite impressed that they seem to have shelved all the UF together). And everything was 3 for 2. So first I found two books, which meant I HAD to find a third. Then I was at five books which meant I HAD to find a sixth. (These are all being put up for Christmas)

So in the end I came away with:-

Unholy Magic and City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane. Renee's post at DIK this week reminded me I needed to pick these up. It felt like they were calling to me.

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs - one of the series I've ended up getting behind on.

Changeless and Blameless by Gail Carriger. I read Soulless this year and this was another series I wanted to stay up to date with.

Finally I got The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson. This is a little out of left field for me. I don't usually read what I think of as 'straight' fantasy - fantasy without urban elements. Also this is a very chunky book - 643 pages - and I'm still trying to find time to read Demon Moon by Meljean Brook and I don't think DM is that long. But I needed a sixth book and I have a vague memory of reading a good review about the Mistborn series (possibly on Renee or Tracy's blog?), and did I mention I needed a sixth book?

So back to not buying books and tackling the TBR pile again.

M/M Challenge - Maiden Rose Volume 1 - Fusanosuke Inariya

2010-11-17T23:52:00.003+01:00

I think Maiden Rose is possibly my favourite Yaoi series. I wouldn't recommend it for everybody due to the slightly disturbing nature of one of the sex scenes (basically a violation), so probably not recommended for your first yaoi. But I love the complex nature of the relationship between Taki and Claus, and the way it makes you think about the power differences in relationships.

Taki Reizen is a young aristocrat - the Maiden Rose of the title - in command of the 15th Army Division, Rozen Maiden. Whilst Claus von Wolfstadt was born into one of the nations that Taki's country is fighting against. But instead of fighting for his own country, Claus chooses to become Taki's knight and Taki's secret lover.

It's a multi-linear story, with at least three stories being told simulataneously. We have the events that are happening in the present which is probably the majority of the story. And then events which occur in Claus's memory - when he thinks back to his first meeting with Taki which occurred when Taki was much younger, and then Taki's days at the military academy where he meets up with Claus again. When Taki has to leave the military academy at the start of the war (because he is deported), it would mean leaving Claus behind. But Claus knows there is a way for him to go with Taki - if Taki makes him his knight.

Although knight sounds like an honoured position, most of the men refer to Claus as being a 'dog'. And to become a knight means...

One must give up his citizenship and renounce all rights...take a master, and become his property.

So Taki essentially owns Claus, the older man has nothing other than what Taki gives him. Whilst Claus thinks of Taki as being his flower.

There are people who're like flowers; We cannot defy their sweetness.

It's just a very complex relationship.

Indeed, what I find most interesting about the story are the power dynamics between Claus and Taki. Claus is older, physically stronger and the sexually dominant of the two. However, he is in enemy territory fighting on the side of an army that is not his own. In every real sense his safety is only guaranteed by Taki's patronage. At a word from Taki any member of the division would not hesitate to execute Claus. They would not ask for a reason they would just follow the command. So it's not as simple to say that Claus overpowers Taki and takes what he wants.

Taki is by no means a weak character. He's an incredibly eloquent speaker who inspires his men to fight. He has a quiet dignity but is very stubborn. To his men he's an ideal, 'a man who stands above others' that's a hard image to maintain. (It's explained later in the story that the reason Taki (who is barely twenty) is able to command 20,000 men is because he is a symbol of purity.) Being with Claus relieves him of that burden of expectation but it also means he's betraying the beliefs of the people he represents. And although he may want to be with Claus, he can never totally let himself relinquish his responsibilities.

Claus want him to be Taki; he wants him for himself, but there's also a feeling when you're reading the story that he could consume Taki. So in a way Taki's aloofness prevents that from happening. But it also means that Claus's desire is never fully satisfied. Claus 'speaks' through his actions. When he fights, he fights for Taki.

"Let me hear your voice. I'll turn it into a blade and repel all who stand in your way."

So there's a sense that somehow their communication with each other isn't working. Claus wants Taki to speak, but Taki cannot articulate what feelings he may have. It's like that's the one part of him that he can't let go of.

It is quite angsty and heavy. So it's nice that at the end there's a little 'cat's paws' story which reimagines the story with Taki (and the 15th division) as cats and Claus (and the opposing army as dogs (sorry Claus would say he's a wolf).

This is a book I can read over and over again. If the non-consent issue is not a problem for you, this is a yaoi that I highly recommend.

Winner of the...

2010-11-07T21:09:00.002+01:00

...Where Did That Book Come From? Giveaway is

Sarai

She posted the second comment and the number chosen at random.org was 2.

Fallen From Grace by Laura Leone

2010-11-04T23:41:00.003+01:00

It's not often that I read m/f contemporary romance these days, (sweeping generalisation coming up) I don't have the patience for it.

So I was pleasantly surprised by Fallen From Grace. Writer Sara Diamond moves into her new apartment and one of the first thing she does is befriend her new next-door neighbour - Ryan Kinsmore. Friendship leads to deeper feelings but Ryan is living a double life. When he's at work he's known as Kevin and he's a prostitute. He knows that once he tells Sara the truth he runs the risk of losing her, but he doesn't want to begin their relationship with a lie. However, leaving the past behind is not as easy as confessing the truth and starting anew.

For the most part I enjoyed this book, I wish there was more m/f of this standard and tackling these sort of stories. Neither Sara nor Ryan are perfect, they both have their unattractive qualities, but this doesn't make them unlikeable as characters.

Sarah is not as liberal as she thinks she is. She can deal with certain issues (don't want to spoil things) as long as they happen in other peoples families. This is something she has to deal with through the course of the book. She has this very secure world view - this is the way things are - but her perception is flawed. She's also a little obtuse, but as a reader I can't help but wonder if that's because she doesn't want to see what's in front of her. And as well as Ryan's occupation, he's also nine years younger than Sara, which is another area of insecurity for her.

Ryan on the other hand is more open...about some things. But not so much when it comes to asking for help. He has had to rely on himself for a long time. And he does patronise Sara a little, but she's quick to put him right.

"Oh, good grief, Ryan! You don't know nearly as much about women as you think you do."

I think that's possibly my favourite line from the book. Mainly because I can imagine so clearly the tone of voice Sara is saying it in.

They both have to make themselves vulnerable to the other, a difficult thing to do, and Laura Leone conveys this beautifully. It's the contrasts between them that makes them work together so well as a couple. They are both wiser about some things than others.

Of the supporting characters I think Miriam - Sara's sister - deserves a special mention.

"Don't try to look on the bright side. There is no bright side."

She's pragmatic but wary too. Very well drawn sibling relationship.

If anything spoiled the book for me, in a bizarre way it was the epilogue. Yes I liked knowing what happened after. But I felt a little like I'd gone from something original to romance novel 101, everything tied up at the end with no loose threads and a super happy ending. It was a little too neat, a little too rose-coloured glasses. (Yes, I feel a little weird about complaining that the ending was too happy).

Having said that, if you like m/f and you've been feeling that it's got generic and tired. I recommend that you check this one out. It's a pity that Laura Leone is not currently writing romance. (Though she is writing urban fantasy as Laura Resnick - hmmm, I think I see a future addition to my wishlist. :) )

Where Did That Book Come From?

2010-11-02T20:53:00.003+01:00

On Monday I was looking at my TBR bookshelf* trying to decide what to read next. When I came across a book that I have no memory of buying and I don't have the faintest idea of when it turned up. The book in question is The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay. The cover is urban fantasy, whilst the blurb suggests a sci-fi twist. Now as no-one buys books for me, I must have bought it. I just don't know when. (If anyone has read it and would like to give me a better idea of what it's about, please do.)

It may have been during the Borders closing down sale...or not.

The majority of the other books on the TBR bookshelf are either from series that I'm reading but haven't got round to finishing or I can definitely link them to a blog review.

Though I must admit I'm also a little vague on exactly when I bought Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge too.

What about you? Do you know exactly what books you have, are you organised or are you like me and not entirely sure what you've got where? I have a copy of Dhampir by Barb & J.C. Hendee to give away to one person who comments on this post. Winner to be chosen at random on Sunday by random number at random.org

* - yes I have a TBR book shelf - books double shelved and stacked, piled up on top and piled up in front . And even so it is still not enough space to contain it. I have got to learn to read faster. :)

DIK Challenge Review, M/M Challenge Review - Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy

2010-10-31T23:13:00.004+01:00

My DIK book for October is Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy. It's one of Jenre's picks and I enjoyed it very much. Set in the world of Australian Rules football, Tigers and Devils tells the story of how Simon Murray football fan and film festival organiser finds himself in a relationship with star forward Declan Tyler. It's not the most straightforward relationship, Simon is out whilst Declan is not. And trying to build a relationship whilst avoiding the speculation of the media is not the easiest thing to do. Will the increasing pressure make or break them?

First off don't worry if you know very little about Australian Rules Football - to be honest I'm not that interested in sport in general - but an extensive knowledge of the game isn't necessary to enjoy the book. And Sean Kennedy makes it so that doesn't matter anyway, he's able to sum up an entire family's feelings about the game on page 1. He lets you know everything you need to know right at the beginning and to be honest it's much more about individual character's feelings towards the game. I'm sure most of us are fanatical about something, so it's easy to understand the attitudes of the various characters.

The whole thing is told in first person from Simon's point of view, in chapter one we find out everything we need to know about him up to the point just before he meets Declan. I like his voice, he's snarky, sarcastic and self-depracating (three of my favourite s-words). He's not the most perfect hero you'll read, but again I like that, it makes him seem more real. He has a tendency to assume he knows what people mean and does behave like a brat on more than one occasion. (Something which Declan calls him out on).

We're also introduced to Simon's friends and family, especially the close relationship he has with his best friend Roger. And the more problematical realtionship he has with his mother and father. In some ways I think Simon is a little too hard on his parents, it's easy to see why he feels the way he does but I was also left thinking just give them a little bit of a break, they are trying. You see that although Simon is very intellectual, he is also judgmental, but I think (maybe assume) that this is a product of his experiences. When Declan says to him (paraphrasing) 'you have to learn to read around what your dad/mum mean'. It does make Simon think.

I thought that was a nice way of putting it and remembered how my mum had claimed my father worried about me. Maybe Declan was a lot wiser than I was.

I enjoyed the way the relationship developed between them. Declan doesn't let Simon get away with stuff.

"...I don't like looking like a dickhead in front of you."
"Really? Then you should stop being one."

The story also illustrates very well the pressure of being in a relationship which has to be hidden, and then dealing with the different pressures once that relationship has been revealed by the media.

I wish that all the m/m I read was this well written. The characters were engaging and people that I wanted to get to know. I cared about what happened to them.

This is a first novel so I don't want to be overly picky but I'm going to be honest, there were a couple of things I had issues with. There was a little bit of phrase repetition and in some ways I felt it could have ended about 80 pages before it did. I felt like we came to a conclusion and then started again, maybe this could have been solved by some rejigging of events? Maybe this was also because the last section started several weeks after the conclusion of the previous section.

Apart from those two points, if you like m/m and haven't read this one yet I do recommend you check it out. It will be getting a place on my keeper shelf and I will be looking forward to reading more books by Sean Kennedy in the future.

Winner of the...

2010-10-31T14:08:00.002+01:00

Neat or Messy? giveaway is

Valerie

I have a copy of On the Edge waiting to be posted to you. Valerie posted the first comment and the number chosen at random.org was 1.

Apologies for not posting yesterday I got sucked into a game of Assassin's Creed (which like all games I play badly, though I'm great at running round in circles like a headless chicken).

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

2010-10-28T00:51:00.005+02:00

Magic Bleeds is the fourh book in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. And I would suggest starting at the beginning of the series and reading the previous books before you check this one out (if you haven't done so already). Mainly because so much of what is here builds on what has happened before. And whilst you could probably work out what's happening from the backstory I really think you'd be missing out on so many layers and subtle little things.

Book 4 could be subtitled - Magic Bleeds - The Book Where the Shit Really Hits the Fan and Everything Changes. In some ways it's a bridging book because at the end of this one Kate's situation is totally different from what it was at page 1. But it's such a well written story as well, not always the case with a bridging book. Some major plot threads are tied up, whilst at the same time a whole new bag of worms is opened. (lol sorry for the mixed metaphors).

It starts off simply enough, Kate goes to investigate a fight at a bar and things rapidly spiral into chaos from there. Kate will be up against the biggest bad she's had to face yet and if that weren't enough her relationship with Curran has hit breaking point.

If you like urban fantasy and you're not reading this series, I urge you to give it a try. It's definitely in my top five favourites and Kate Daniel's is in my top five UF heroines. It's all to do with the character of Kate. At turns vulnerable, tough, sarcastic, best friend and worst enemy.

I think one of the things I like most about this book is that so many things are resolved. Often when you read series, you can end up feeling like things are being dragged out for the sake of it. But that is not the case here. Two major plot arcs are - resolved is perhaps the wrong word - dealt with, but both of them will have repercussions.

The dialogue as always is brilliantly written and incredibly quotable. Most especially the banter between Curran and Kate. Their courtship has to be read to be believed.

His face was peaceful. I've never seen him so relaxed. It was as if someone had lifted a huge weight off those muscled shoulders.
And dumped all of it on me.

I made a comment in my review of the first book in the series about Curran being a bit of a git. He blamed Kate for something that in fact he had done. And this - I'm never wrong - attitude of his is actually addressed in this book. I really liked that. I like it when authors can keep all of their metaphorical balls in the air and know exactly where they are. I like it when things are not forgotten.

Speaking of which p.126 Saiman's comment to Kate. I can't wait to find out what that means. It's almost like it's mentioned in passing. But it feels important and hopefully will be cropping up in a future book.

There is one more character introduced here - the attack poodle. Usually (as you know) I'm not a huge fan of animal companions in urban fantasy. But the poodle has a couple of things going for him - 1) he's not a ferret 2) he's not anthropomorphized but still has a character all of his own 3) he reminds me a little bit of my dog (the attack shih tzu).

Kate Daniel's fans probably already have this one on their book shelves. But for anyone who hasn't read the series and who likes urban fantasy with a kick ass heroine, I highly recommend starting with Magic Bites and not stopping until you've caught up with the rest of us.

Do You Like Neat or Messy?

2010-10-25T19:12:00.003+02:00

Storylines that is.

I've been thinking about that this week after reading Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews and Fallen From Grace by Laura Leone.

Do you like everything tied up at the end of a story with a nice little bow on top or do you like a little bit of mystery left at the end. Something for you to think about after you've closed the book.

Personally, I like my stories to be a little messy - not too messy, I like to have an understanding of what's going on - but I don't need to have everything spelled out for me. I think it makes things a little more real, it also engages your brain with what you're reading.

In my review of the first in the Kate Daniels series, I made a comment about Curran being a bit of a wanker - he blames Kate for misidentifying the bad guy when in fact it was he who made the suggestion. So...a little bit messy. Did he have to be such a git? lol. But having just finished book 4 in the series - Magic Bleeds - I absolutely LOVE the fact that it acknowledges that Curran does make bad decisions but cannot take it back if he does and no one is in a position to contradict him either or say - "you're being a git". It helps make the characters feel so much more real.

Fallen From Grace is the first m/f in a long time that I've really enjoyed but I wish that something that happened at the end, hadn't happened - this is a really personal thing, so for most readers I doubt it would bother them, especially if they're reading a lot of m/f contemporary anyway. But it was like - here's your happy ending and now I'm going to put a bow on it. (One of the main reasons why I've come to prefer m/m over m/f).

This type of thing always makes me think of the Amazon review of one of my favourite urban fantasy's, which complained about the hero and heroine having sex. The fact that the hero couldn't wait to get his hands on the heroine, that they didn't make love, but rather went at it like two rabbits hopped up on viagra. But I like the fact that the sex was a little messy, that they couldn't wait 'til they had access to a bedroom.

So do you like your stories all wrapped up at the end, or do you like them to be a little messy? I have a copy of On the Edge by Lynn Erickson to give away to one posted to this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number at randomnumber.org on Saturday.

Back to Blogging...

2010-10-24T22:07:00.002+02:00

...after having a little bit of a break.

Winner of the Prologues Yay or Nay Giveaway is...

2010-10-10T18:00:00.001+02:00

...

Sarai

She posted the first comment and the number at random.org was 1. So I have a copy of the Cravings anthology waiting for you.

Prologues - Yay or Nay?

2010-10-06T23:44:00.002+02:00

I started a book last week and my mum looked over my shoulder and the following conversation went something like :-

(Mum) "You're not reading the prologue, are you?"

(Me) "Yes."

(Mum) "I never read the prologue. Why are you reading the prologue?"

(Me) "Because it's part of the story." ??!?

Which got me to wondering - surely most readers read the prologue don't they?

Maybe it's because I read a lot of murder mystery and urban fantasy, and you generally find that if there's a prologue it's important and usually three-quarters of the way through the actual book there's a big reveal and suddenly everything that happened in the prologue makes sense.

I'm sure there have been cases where I haven't wanted to read a prologue, where I've been put off a story by a badly written / boring one.

I have a vague memory of books where the prologue seems to have been a very dry recounting of either a world's history or a character's genealogy. And I admit I probably skipped those. But in general, at least these days I read the prologue. (If anything I'm more likely to skip the epilogue, especially those that seem to consist of a single page at the end - they got married and had children.)

What about you? Do you read the prologue or skip it? I have a copy of the Cravings anthology to give away to one poster to this thread. Winner to be chosen on Sunday by random number at random.org.

Winner of the Banned Books Giveaway is...

2010-10-02T23:45:00.001+02:00

Nicole

She posted the second comment and the number chosen at random.org was 2.

I have a copy of the Love at First Bite anthology waiting to be posted to you.

If it's Friday it must be Ferrets

2010-10-01T22:51:00.002+02:00

I've decided that from now on I shall be employing a fictional ferret grading system (1-5) as follows:-

1 Ferret - the ferret in question is a perfectly normal ferret.

2 Ferrets - the ferret in question is normal but there's something slightly "off" (air quotes) about it. (If it's the first book in the series, the ferret grade may be rising in future books).

3 Ferrets - the ferret in question has some supernatural attributes but they are not annoying and contribute in a useful way to the story.

4 Ferrets - the ferret in question is obviously supernatural. And its talents are more annoying than useful (though it does have its cute moments). It doesn't save the day but without its contribution the hero/heroine would have hit a brick wall.

5 Ferrets - the ferret in question is actually a disguised prince/magician/genie, travelling under a curse/spell. Without him the heroine would never have solved the problem / won the war. It puts the ferret in ferret ex machina.

DIK Reading Challenge - The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

2010-09-30T21:42:00.004+02:00

My DIK reading challenge pick for September is The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. This was one of Sula's books at DIK. I'd already read the previous two books in the trilogy - The Raven Prince and The Leopard Prince - with the second being my favourite. And I now know that the third book is my least favourite of the three.

The Serpent Prince tells the tale of Viscount Simon Iddesleigh, discovered by Lucy Craddock Hayes after he has been nearly beaten to death, robbed, stripped naked and left to die in a ditch. Whilst he recuperates from his ordeal the two of them become close and eventually marry. But Simon has a dark side and is on a quest for vengeance that will put Lucy in danger.

The main problem I had with the story is the character of Lucy. She was just too perfect. She didn't seem to have any flaws and everybody loved her. I thought the angel (Lucy) and devil (Simon) imagery was slightly overdone. It was really hammered home that she is this angelic paragon.

I think perhaps my favourite scene featuring Lucy is one where she's visiting her friend Patricia. And unfortunately it's her friend that has the best lines.

"Why don't you do what I do and think about hats or shoes while he talks?"

I found myself wishing that we could slip into Patricia's head for part of the story instead of Lucy's, which is perhaps not what you should be thinking about the heroine. I don't really have too much else to say about Lucy.

Simon on the other hand was a fascinating character. It would have been easy for Elizabeth Hoyt to have him give up his quest for vengeance once he was married. But she doesn't do that. It said so much about the character. He wants to be the man that Lucy wants him to be, but he cannot let go of the need to duel the men who brought about his brothers death. Even as he knows it is destroying him, he carries on the path he has set for himself.

He also has one of my favourite qualities in a protagonist.

"I see." Simon knew he sounded irritated. It was becoming a habit with Christian to show up unexpectedly, rather like a case of the clap.

Yes he is incredibly sarcastic.

I must mention briefly one of my favourite scenes which takes place in a coffee shop where Simon has met up with Edward (Raven) and Harry (Leopard) from the previous books in the series. It has an almost farcical quality about it, just a nice change of pace.

I do like how in each of the stories the fairytale informs the reader on a different level about what the story is telling us. Simon is telling the tale of The Serpent Prince to Lucy, she suspects that he is making it up as he goes along and in a way it's like he's trying to tell her about the man he is inside. It was also nice how a variation of the scorpion and the fox tale was incorporated into the story - this time with a frog and a snake. It gives the story added depth.

I think if I had read this story first instead of The Raven Prince it wouldn't have made me want to read the rest of the trilogy. So I'm glad that this is the third book and not the first. I would recommend the trilogy as a whole, though the books are more loosely connected by theme rather than by an over-riding story arc. And I would recommend reading this book to read Simon's story.

Calling SarahM

2010-09-30T00:02:00.002+02:00

I haven't heard from SarahM. If anyone knows which blogs she posts on and gives her the heads up I would be grateful.

Thanks to Chris, got in touch with Sarah.

Jennifer Rardin

2010-09-29T00:18:00.002+02:00

I'm shocked and saddened to have found out that Jennifer Rardin passed away last week.

I'm not on Twitter and I tend not to surf the internet as much as I used to. So I guess I'm about a week behind compared to everyone else.

The Jaz and Vayl series is one that I've been following. To read my reviews of the first four books of the series you should be able to click on the Jaz and Vayl link in the sidebar. After my first review I received an e-mail from Jennifer to thank me for reading her book. I'm always surprised to receive an e-mail from an author and she commented that she was glad I picked up her book even if the cover was white. (I think I commented around that time about the majority of Urban Fantasy covers being black).

I'm including a link here to Renee's blog. Several blogs are posting tributes to Jennifer and are giving away copies of her books - all details are available on Renee's blog. If you've never read the Jaz and Vayl series I recommend it - well you can read my reviews to find out what I think in more detail.

Renee's Book Addiction - Thank you Ms. Rardin

The final book in the Jaz and Vayl series will be published next year.

Chimera by Rob Thurman

2010-09-27T21:01:00.004+02:00

Chimera tells the story of Stefan and his younger brother Lukas Korsak. Ten years ago Lukas was kidnapped and Stefan never knew why, but he never gave up looking for his younger sibling. And then almost by chance he finds him. But the young man (renamed Michael) that Stefan rescues is not the brother he remembers - he's been genetically transformed into the perfect assassin and the people who took him will do anything to get him back.

I really enjoyed this, though it took a little while for me to get into it. It's kind of ironic in a way that last week I was talking on the blog about protagonists that don't listen to other characters and Stefan spends a great deal of the book not listening to what Michael is telling him. But...and there is a big but, there's always an exception that proves the rule and Chimera (and Stefan) is that exception.

Without doubt Rob Thurman knows how to write relationships between male characters. From the instant that Stefan and Michael meet there is an wonderul snarkiness between them. Michael initially thinks this is some kind of test set by his captors, whilst Stefan is almost unable to believe that his hopes and dreams of finding his brother have finally been realised.

Written in the first person from Stefan's point of view this allows us an insight into how the loss of his brother has completely shaped his life. He goes into the family business (Russian mafia) so he can earn the money to search for his brother. He holds up the hope of finding his brother almost like a light to keep him going through the darkness of his life. Lukas is the only good thing he has to hold onto.

Lukas wouldn't have gone this way - never; not even if things had been reversed and something had happened to me.

Then when he finds him the thought that immediately goes through his mind is...

He looked - my God - he looked like salvation.

That's quite a lot for someone to live up to. And Michael is old beyond his years, he's not the innocent child that Stefan remembers. His experiences with his captors mean he doesn't relate to people. His captors took him out on field trips to study human behaviour but there's a difference between observing and interacting.

Gradually they settle into this sibling relationship whilst being on the run from the bad guys. It's something that Stefan desperately wants and needs,

I'd always known that saving Lukas would be saving myself..

Michael on the other hand is more reluctant. Initially he thinks it's a test, he gradually comes to realize that Stefan is for real but he also knows how desperate his captors will be to get him back. He's painfully realistic about the situation that they're in. This is very well illustrated when Michael asks Stefan if he's ever killed anyone and Stefan responds with 'no' even though he's not sure whether he has or not. Michael on the other hand responds to Stefan's denial with the words 'I have'.

At one point Stefan says to Michael - It's not what you can do, it's what you choose to do. I think if the book had a theme this would be it and I think it's ultimately how the two brothers work through their situation. Stefan chose to do terrible things in order to be able to save his brother. Michael fears what he is capable of doing, what the scientists have turned him into. And Stefan tries to make him see that he can choose not to be that person - just because he can doesn't mean he will.

I must just mention here that this book has a ferret in it. Now if this were urban fantasy I'd probably be tearing my hair out at this point. However, this ferret is in no way magical and is called Godzilla (aka several other names in the book not all of them polite) so for once we'll live with there being a ferret.

And perhaps my favourite scene, which I think is the excerpt on Rob Thurman's site.

"Stefan, I was wondering." He paused casually. "Have you ever had sex?"
...
"Yes,"...
"Really?"...
"Yeah. When I was twenty-one, just like the law says."

This could have been quite a dark and depressing tale. But the relationship between the brothers stops that from happening. There are moments of joy, happiness, relief, fear and redemption. One of my favourite books of this year.

Banned Books Week September 25th - October 2nd 2010

2010-09-27T11:39:00.001+02:00

It's that time of year again - Banned Books week.

And as always I'm kind of left wishing that I'd read more of the books that are or have been banned.

The 2009 top ten list of frequently challenged books on the ALA website can be found here.

And the top 100 most frequently challenged books from 2000 - 2009 can be found on the ALA website here.

I have only read a few of the books on these lists, to give me a wider range of banned books that I've read I have to look back to the top 100 of 1990 - 1999, and to the banned and challenged classics list .

Ironically when I read these lists most of the banned books I've read, I read whilst I was at school as part of my English lessons - 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Animal Farm, The Pigman. And more recently as part of my English Lit. course - The Color Purple.

Others are books that I just loved from my childhood - Charlotte's Web, The Wind in the Willows, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Lord of the Rings, Winnie the Pooh.

And from my teen years when I was a bit of a Stephen King fan - Cujo, The Dead Zone, Christine. I find it almost amusing in a way that the list has changed over the past two decades from challenging Stephen King to challengine Stephenie Meyer. It's also interesting when you look at the most frequently challenged authors lists by year to see both P.C.Cast and Richelle Mead there for 2009. Presumably both for their young adult urban fantasy series.

To try and rectify what I feel is a lack in my reading repertoire next year one of my challenges is going to be to read 12 banned books. I think I should be able to manage at least one a month.

So have you read any banned books this year? Or do you have a favourite book that is on a banned books list? I have a copy of the Anthology Love at First Bite to give away to one poster to this thread. Not a banned book but I'm afraid I don't have any banned books to give away. Winner to be picked by random number at random.org next Saturday.

Winner of the What Turns You Off in a Protagonist Giveaway...

2010-09-25T22:13:00.003+02:00

is

SarahM

I have a copy of Finders Keepers by Linnea Sinclair waiting to be posted to you. Send me your snail mail addy to

lesley7312 at yahoo dot com

(replacing the words with symbols)

Number chosen at random.org was 5 and SarahM posted the 5th comment from people who wanted to join in.

A Big Thank You

2010-09-21T21:11:00.002+02:00

Last week I posted on DIK about unforgettable scenes and mentioned a scene that was stuck in my head but I couldn't remember which book it came from.

On Saturday, Hasard posted that the scene might be from Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

And IT IS! From page 210 of Fantasy Lover

He tilted the oyster to slide into her mouth. As the oyster slid down her throat, he ran his tongue up her neck in the opposite direction.

Yay I can finally stop frantically trying to match that scene to the book it comes from.

A big thanks to Hasard. :)

What Turns You Off in a Protagonist

2010-09-20T20:00:00.002+02:00

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about what turns me on in a protagonist, so it seems only fair to write about what turns me off.

Stupidity

This probably ranks as number one for a lot of readers. So hardly surprising that it makes the top of the list. I think you can forgive a protagonist a lot, but stupidity is a hard one to let go. Characters should be allowed to make mistakes it's one way in which they grow and develop. But there does come a point when (if the character is constantly making mistakes and not learning from them) you begin to question if they don't deserve all the grief they attract. At that point it's usually difficult to regain any empathy you might have had for them at the beginning of the story.

Not Listening

In a way this is linked to stupidity. But when a character doesn't listen to what another character is telling them, or interprets what they are being told in a completely bizarre way it can become annoying - to put it mildly. As the reader you can 'hear' what the other character is saying. And if the character is being told something logical and interpreting it in an illogical way - it's patently obvious. If I as a reader can work out what's happening, then I think the hero/heroine should be able to as well.

I think the stupidity thing and the not listening, mainly happen because the author needs the plot to go in a certain way, so the characters serve the plot rather than the plot serving the characters.

My last turn off is a little hard to describe. But another annoying trait is if a character is 'up themselves'. Lol, I'm not sure that this translates very well. But it's almost a kind of smug vanity - a sense of superiority that isn't justified.

So these are my protagonist turn-offs. What about yours? Is there anything a hero or heroine does that really annoys you? I have a copy of Finders Keepers by Linnea Sinclair to give to one commenter on this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number at random.org on SAturday.

Hostage to Pleasure - Nalini Singh

2010-09-16T22:07:00.003+02:00

Hostage to Pleasure is #5 in the Psy-Changeling series. It ties up some of the plot ends left dangling at the end of Mine to Possess. Ashaya Aleine is a Psy who is desperate to save her son and escape the PsyNet. Dorian Christensen is a DarkRiver Sentinel who hates the Psi. His sister was killed by a Psy sociopath and he hungers for vengeance. Yet when Ashaya makes her break for freedom it is Dorian who helps her. But getting free of the Psynet is not an easy thing and the Psy Council are never more dangerous than when they feel they are losing control.

It's been a while since I read a Psy/Changeling book, for some reason I stalled out on the series. I don't know why because I love Nalini Singh's writing. Maybe part of the reason is that I didn't feel drawn to Dorian as a character. Having finished the book I admit that I didn't quite like it as much as the previous books in the series, but I am sorry that I waited so long to read it.

I don't think this is a story that you can come to without having read the previous books in the series first. The overall arc of the Psy/Changeling series is getting more complex - there are Psy machinations within machinations. Of particular interest to me is how Kaleb Krychek's story moves forward here. I love how even though Nalini Singh reveals more about him, he is still so mysterious. We're not 100% sure whose side he's on - other than his own. My other favourite inscrutable Psy - Vasic - also makes an appearance here. I hope that one day he will have a story of his own.

The story is multi-plotted, alongside the main story there are several other stories ticking along. I wonder if Keenan's comments about who he's going to marry will come true. I find this one of the most rewarding aspects of the Psy-Changeling series the sense that each story takes place in a much larger world.

It would be so easy to unintentionally spoil this book so this review is a little shorter than usual and a little more general.

Of the two main characters I found Ashaya the harder to connect with - though as she's Psy perhaps that's not surprising. What I think will become clearer on a second reading is how fractured her conditioning is. Something which I don't think you're immediately aware of on a first read through. I love books which have high readability.

It's Dorian (I think) who goes on the larger journey. He's at war with himself, drawn to Ashaya but repulsed by the Psy.

Attracted to one of the Silent?
His mouth set in a grim line. He'd cut off his own balls before he accepted that.

Hopefully I'm not giving too much away when I say that he doesn't have to resort to such a drastic option. :) But at the end it's Ashaya who makes the leap of faith to save them both.

I don't think it will be too long before I read the next Psy/Changeling book on my TBR pile. There are some series you shouldn't let stall.

Posting at DIK today

2010-09-14T09:53:00.002+02:00

About Unforgettable Scenes.

Hope you'll pop over and join me.

DIK Blog

Words, Words, Words

2010-09-01T12:43:00.004+02:00

I admit I have started watching Spartacus : Blood and Sand and am quite enjoying it. And when I was reading historicals - several years ago now - one of my favourite eras was Roman Britain. I still have Defy the Eagle by Lynn Bartlett on my bookshelf, not that I read it that often, 'cause it's over 600 pages long and my pback copy is looking a little tatty. And one of my favourite series are the Marcus Falco books by Lindsey Davis.

With 300, Spartacus, Centurion - that time period is obviously coming back into fashion. So when I saw a new romance book set in Roman times I admit I was overcome with a little nostalgia and thought I'd check it out.

I'm not buying books at the moment having made the decision to tackle my TBR pile. But I am adding books to my wishlist after careful research.

So I search out an excerpt and within the first few paragraphs the heroine is talking about her pussy. Now I'm not a prude, I read a hell of a lot of erotic romance both m/m and f/m and probably know more words for genitalia than the average person. But this completely put me off the idea of buying the book.

Why?

Because it knocked me out of the time period. I cannot believe that this is set in Roman Britain. If you check the etymology of the word pussy most sources say it wasn't used to describe female genitalia until the mid 19th century. So I get pushed from Roman to Victorian.

I don't think you even need to know that. It just sounds wrong. (Maybe after reading the Falco novels I've been spoiled.)

Does this matter? Well it does to me. If you're going to set your book in a certain period surely you want to make it authentic on at least some level. If not, why bother writing an historical?

What does everyone else think?

DIK Challenge/ M/M Challenge - Camp Hell by Jordan Castillo Price (Psycop 5)

2010-08-31T23:44:00.006+02:00

My DIK pick for August is Camp Hell by Jordan Castillo Price, one of Jenre's picks. I think I just made it under the wire.

Camp Hell picks up immediately where Psycop 4 ends. Victor has decided to take the plunge and investigate exactly why Heliotrope Station (Camp Hell) and all mention of its residents has been erased. But when someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to bury the past, is it really safe for him to be poking around?

LOVED THIS!

My favourite of the series. I think perhaps because the characters are so settled in. Both mysteries (Victor's investigation into the La Salle hospital and his investigation into Camp Hell) are completely interwoven into the story.

I very much appreciated Vic's sarcastic humor here, as it balanced out some of the tragic and sad history of Heliotrope Station which we experience firsthand as Vic undergoes hypnotic regression.

If possible the paranoia quotient gets even higher, mainly because it permeates the whole book this time rather than just being a part of it.

"I have to tell you something. But I think they're listening." Which sounded incredibly paranoid, I realized, but only after I'd said it.

And there's also the sense of a conspiracy of silence. It's not 100% clear who the bad guys and good guys are. I'm very, very interested to see where the story goes from here. I don't think we've heard the last of Heliotrope station and the FPMP (Federal Psychic Monitoring Program) it feels like there's more to come.

Victor and Jacob's relationship gets stronger here, but they're still working on it. :) JCP manages to get across in a couple of sentences what takes other authors pages and it makes the story so much stronger.

"...We're both on the same side, right?"
Jacob's gaze had moved from the wall to my eyes. I wanted to squirm. "You've got to start acting like it," he said.

They're still not quite as honest with each other as they could be. As Crash puts it:-

"...You guys think you're so virtuous because you both fall into the same bed every night, but I'll bet you haven't had a single conversation that was a hundred percent honest..."

I think Crash knows exactly how to hit a nerve, but Jacob's and Victor's lies seem mainly to be each of them trying to protect the other. But it's still lying.

Crash makes another welcome appearance. I like how he rubs Victor up the wrong way. (Loved his comment about the fight with a lamprey). In a way it's like they're - Jacob, Victor, Carolyn, Lisa, Crash - this very dysfunctional family.

There's a nice balance of humor and suspense. The pacing of the story is excellent, Jordan Castillo Price knows exactly when to ramp it up and when to tone it down. And the story doesn't exist in a vacuum, their day to day lives and jobs carry on. Even though Vic is trying to find out about Heliotrope Station, he still has a day job and also a life outside that job that he has to deal with.

In Camp Hell a lot of questions have been answered. But I think there are some things that have only just had the surface scratched. (I hope the alcohol being/not being a psyactive is cleared up at some point). I am now in the unfortunate position of having to wait for book 6. :(

Edited to Add, Afterthought - One of the reasons I think I like this one the most is that in a way for me it feels that Jacob and Victor's relationship is the only normality in an increasingly hostile world. Thinking of the other m/m books I've really enoyed - A Strong and Sudden Thaw, Wicked Gentlemen, The Administration series - it's how these relationships develop, survive and grow stronger, even though it seems that the odds are stacked against them. Camp Hell (especially the scenes between Stefan and Victor) had that dystopian feel. I will definitely be re-reading this series again.

M/M Challenge - Secrets by Jordan Castillo Price (Psycop 4)

2010-08-31T14:53:00.003+02:00

In Secrets Victor becomes aware that perhaps some of his paranoia is justified. Heliotrope Station (Camp Hell) where he spent two years being 'trained' in his psychic abilities isn't mentioned anywhere on the internet, come to that neither are any of the former inmates...including himself. At the same time Jacob is dealing with a particularly unpleasant case involving sexual abuse at a retirement home, a case he doesn't want to talk about with Victor. Things are starting to unravel.

After the previous book I was a little worried that maybe I was overglomming Psycop in my attempt to get to Camp Hell before the end of August. (Hey there are still a few hours left). But I needn't have worried, Secrets is back on form with a vengeance.

The story opens with a wonderfully domestic scene, Victor and Jacob are moving in together. Which of course involves a little moving day nookie.

"You left a bite mark!"
..."Good thing you don't have to work tomorrow."
"You shit."

Of course everything is down hill from there. Jacob gets called away to deal with a case. And Victor (currently on medical leave) is left trying (and failing) to sort out their new living quarters. The case weighs heavily on Jacob but he doesn't want to talk about it with Victor. And Victor having recently found out about the complete lack of information on Heliotrope Station begins to feel (not unjustifiably) that everyone is keeping secrets from him.

I thought the mystery in this one was much more integrated into the story. Although the mystery itself is a separate thing, it impacts on Jacob and Victor's relationship. Jacob doesn't want to talk to Victor about it because he doesn't want to burden him. But he does feel able to talk to someone else about it - which doesn't really do much for Victor. Victor realizes that Jacob is keeping secrets from him, but doesn't know if that's the only secret he's keeping. And it seems that everybody (bar Victor) knows about the lack of information on Heliotrope Station and doesn't see anything strange about it. Especially towards the beginning of the story you can almost feel Vic's paranoia coming off the page. Everyone (with the possible exception of Carolyn who can't lie) is keeping secrets. And it's only when these secrets come out and are revealed that they can move on. Though as Victor says at the end

"I'm not so sure I like the new, improved, honest you. Let's go back to pretending everything's fine the way it is."

There was a lot more of Crash (Jacob's ex, the empath) in this one, which immediately ramps up the sarcasm quotient. Crash is one of those characters who can't resist metaphorically poking at the sore spot with a stick. He's an empath, so even though Victor doesn't want Crash to know he's attracted to him, Crash knows anyway and takes full advantage. I love Victor's justification to himself that it's Crash's green hair that does it.

I think this is the first time that Victor and Jacob's relationship is put to the test. Which makes for a very realistic read. You don't just ride off into the sunset together and everything's fine from then on. Relationships take work. It's working through the problems that makes them stronger and is far more interesting to read about.

One other thing that's explored here is Jacob's almost fetishistic attraction to Victor's ability. As Carolyn says in her blunt way.

"Victor, you've got to get out of here...Whenever you're in the room, Jacob turns into a walking hard-on. I haven't got the time for it..."

Victor starts to think that maybe they are like opposite ends of a magnet and that's why the attraction is so intence. I wonder if this is a thread that JCP will pursue?

A definite recommendation from me for anyone who hasn't yet read it. Onward and upward to Camp Hell.

M/M Challenge, Body and Soul by Jordan Castillo Price (Psycop 3)

2010-08-29T22:12:00.003+02:00

Psycop 3 continues the story of Victor and Jacob. This time in between looking for a new house or apartment where the two of them can live together, sans ghosts. Victor is involved in a case of three missing people. Unfortunately unlike the previous case (in Criss Cross Psycop 2) where he couldn't seem to get away from the dead, this time they are proving very difficult to locate.

I have to be honest I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the previous story. Saying that, this is still some of the best m/m I have read recently. So I almost feel overly picky even mentioning it.

Unlike the previous story which integrated the mystery with the relationship stuff. This one is more of a story of two parts. The mystery (for me) was not as interesting as the interaction between Jacob and Victor. Though it is interesting seeing how Victor handles himself in his job when he's not working with Jacob (as he did in Psycop 1, and in Psycop 2 Jacob was kind of involved as well, where here the two are separate).

What we do get here is a lot of insight into Victor. He's almost painfully honest with himself to the point where he over analyzes, which kind of leads him into assuming what people are either thinking or are going to say or how they'll react and then he bases his responses on these assumptions. It's no wonder he sometimes struggles with what he's going to say.

"I could feel him staring at the side of my face, waiting for me to have a coherent thought and speak it out loud. He'd gotten eerily adept at not filling in any awkward silences with my over the last couple of months. Damn him."

It's these little touches that let you see how their relationship has developed. Jacob doesn't rush Victor to speak, he waits for the words to come.

Ironically you would think that Jacob would be the one who was most secure in himself and the relationship. He's out at work and with his family, whereas every time Victor gets a new partner he struggles with telling them that he's gay. But here I think we see that Jacob is not maybe as sure of Victor's feelings. You could take this back to the first story when you think about what both of them saw the murder suspect as. (Don't want to give away spoilers for book 1)

I like stories which take protagonists out of their comfort zones. And this story opens with Victor and Jacob at Thanksgiving with Jacob's family. And the presence of children is great because it means the protagonists get asked socially inappropriate questions. Which they then have to decide how or if they're going to answer. Something of a minefield for Victor.

I think when I go back to re-read this one, it will be the domestic and house-hunting scenes that draw me. For me the mystery in this one came second place (apart from how it served to see more of Victor) to the developments in the relationship between Jacob and Victor. I think in this story they have moved to a new level. I still think maybe Victor is a little unsure of himself, which leads to Jacob feeling a little unsure of the relationship as well. But that's what makes it interesting.

Onto Psycop 4.

Winner of...

2010-08-28T20:51:00.001+02:00

the What Turns You On giveaway is

Jenre

She posted the first comment and the number chosen at random.org was one. I have a copy of Phenomenal Girl 5 waiting for you.

M/M Challenge Criss Cross (Psycop 2) - Jordan Castillo Price

2010-08-27T22:03:00.003+02:00

Criss Cross is the second in the Psycop series by Jordan Castillo Price. And I must admit that I like this one even more than the first. The ghosts that surround Victor are getting pushier than usual and it seems that his medication is now causing more problems than it solves. He has a new partner and following the events of the first story, Jacob is now living with him. Things are getting a little out of control. Victor really needs to work out what is going on, before it's too late.

Because of the circumstances of the previous story, Jacob has now moved in with Victor. This has pushed them into a domestic arrangement sooner rather than later. I love how this keeps Victor off balance. He has this way of dealing with his life - everything a certain way - his white appartment, his drugs and Jacob pushes his way in there - not in an aggressive way, but he's just there.

"He (Jacob) had this way of lying diagonally on the bed so that when I got up and looked back at him, I wondered how the hell I'd even fit in there."

Sometimes it's like Victor doesn't quite know how to deal with him. It's this awkwardness that makes him endearing, that balances out the sarcasm.

I think my favourite thing is the contrasts between them. How Jacob likes to talk dirty during sex and is very vocal, whereas Victor is more cerebral and can never think of anything to say.

"Speaking of dirty: Jacob's a talker...Not that the words aren't sexy as hell - I just worry that I'll sound like an idiot if I'm the one saying them."

Jordan Castillo Price gets you straight into how their relationship works. Jacob is so sexual and overt and Victor is slightly more repressed.

"No wonder I worried about talking dirty; talking in general seemed to escape me."

I liked the mystery in this one as well. Especially the more paranoid aspects in the first half of the story. Even when Victor doesn't seem to be aware that something is wrong. I think that you as the reader are aware that there's something not quite right - a creeping suspicion that tickles the back of your head as you're reading.

This one gets another big recommendation from me. And I'm looking forward to reading the remaining books in the series.

What Turns You On in a Protagonist...

2010-08-23T12:43:00.003+02:00

...this post is not going to be as provocative as the subject makes it sound. :)

After reading Psycop 1 last week I've been thinking about what really makes me like and root for a protagonist. Looking at my favourite heroes and heroines - Marcus Falco, Miles Vorkosigan, Kate Daniels, Elena Danvers, Nadia Stafford, Adrien English, Jaz Parks, Gen (from The Thief) - there is some common ground there.

So without further ado - my three favourite things to find in a hero/heroine.

Sarcasm, Painful Honesty, and not Shutting Up

Lol - I love me a sarcastic hero. Someone who has a withering put down always ready on the edge of their tongue. Someone who has a clever comment to deliver at a moment's notice.

...Jack said, "You saw my note, right? It said 'wait'."
"That was a note? I thought it was a haiku."(Made to be Broken - Kelley Armstrong)

Someone who doesn't always keep quiet when perhaps they should because they just have to push it that bit further.

"I pointed out that he'd been no help at the ford. He pointed out that I had climbed a tree. I pointed out that I had no sword. He offered to give me his, point first." (The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner)

Someone who doesn't always understand the meaning of too much information.

"...I can't think with my underwear stuck up my crack. I know it's a weakness, but it's just one of those things." (Bitten to Death - Jennifer Rardin)

And if in doubt you can always state the truth.

"...Now she believes I'm a liar. Probably because I lied to her." (A Hunger Like No Other - Kresley Cole)

Keeping the Brain Switched On

One of the other attributes that I rank highly in a protagonist is whether or not they think. I hate when I read a book and start wondering at what point the hero put their brain into neutral. (Usually this happens to serve a particularly unbelievable plot point.) Smart people are sexy. People who keep their brain ticking over no matter the situation are fun to read about.

"I could tie you to the bed, you know."
"No, you can't. It's round and you don't have any rope." (Twilight Fall by Lynn Viehl)

(Hmmm, perhaps this is a little linked to the previous point).

One of the things I most love about characters such as Miles Vorkosigan, Kate Daniels and Marcus Falco is that even when the situation is turning to complete shit all around them, their brains are still constantly churning over the possibilities.

"Hello, dove." He grinned at me. "Look at that: you don't have your pretty knife and I've got your hands. What are you gonna do now?"
I rammed my head into his nose.' (Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews)

They can be saying one thing, doing something else and thinking something else entirely. It makes for an exciting and thrilling read.

Consistency

Again this kind of links to the previous post in some ways - the character having their brain switched on- but it's also to do with the character behaving organically. I think it's important that if an author establishes a character will behave in a certain way that they are true to that. Put your character in the most awful situation imaginable but have them behave in a way that is true to them.

A brilliant example of this (and I'm going to write about it without spoilers because it just shouldn't be spoiled) is what happens to Miles Vorkosigan in Memory. Something awful happens. But it's been established since the beginning of the series that he follows this strategy of 'forward momentum' (keep going, just keep going). And up until this point it's worked pretty well for him. But in this case things just get worse and worse. He should stop...but he can't. As a reader you can see the inevitable disaster of the situation, but you also understand that Miles is behaving like Miles would.

So what are the attribues you most like your heroes/heroines to have? I have a copy of Phenomenal Girl 5 to give away to one poster to this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number at random.org on Saturday.

Winner of the...

2010-08-21T13:47:00.004+02:00

...Stalling out on a series giveaway is :-

Donna

whose comment was the 6th on the thread by someone who wanted to take part in the draw. Number chosen at random.org was 6.

Donna - keep an eye out for my e-mail. :)

M/M Challenge, Among the Living by Jordan Castillo Price (Psycop 1)

2010-08-17T15:22:00.004+02:00

As I'm intending to read Camp Hell (Psycop 5) for my August DIK book, I thought I better get my finger out and read the previous 4 books in the series. Also this will make a serious dent in my m/m challenge .

I'd heard only good things about the Psycop series so I was looking forward to reading it and wasn't disappointed.

Among the Living introduces us to Victor Bayne - the psychic half of a Psycop team. Victor's psychic talent is that of a medium - he can talk to the dead, specifically for his job victims of crime, murder victims. The book opens with him hooking up with Jacob Marks (a non-psychic(Stiff) from an adjacent precinct) at the retirement do for Victor's current partner. Victor (who's in the closet) has the idea that this will probably be a one time thing. Then a serial killer strikes and suddenly Victor finds himself working with Jacob. The only problem is this killer isn't leaving any ghosts behind, and any living witnesses can't seem to agree on what the suspect looks like.

I loved this story and highly recommend it to anyone who likes m/m who hasn't read it already.

Written in the first person this gets you straight into Victor's head; to my delight he has an incredibly sarcastic inner voice. I have a weakness for saracastic protagonists anyway, but his comments were especially entertaining.

I'd always thought that rules were just for people who tended to get caught.

Hmmm. Maybe right up until the moment you get caught.

There is a chemistry between Victor and Jacob from the start, which is slightly combative in a way.

"What's in your mouth?" he said, and his voice was a sexy, low purr.

Not physically as such but there is a friction between them. This is a good contrast, it kind of knocks Victor off stride.

One of the things I thought was very interesting was how Jacob and Victor see the suspect. (The suspect's appearance can vary.) Especially because it lets the story end on such a cracking last line (Jacob gets the last word) and you can almost imagine the non-plussed look on Victor's face.

We're also introduced to a couple of other psychics. Jacob's partner Carolyn who Victor refers to as 'the human polygraph'. And another who has the ability to give the correct answer to yes/no questions - which sounds a very simplistic talent in a way but for police work could be very useful.

In short, this is a brilliant introduction to the Psycop world and makes me very glad I have the next four stories ready to go.

Stalling out on a Series

2010-08-16T11:24:00.003+02:00

I started reading Hostage to Pleasure by Nalini Singh this week - for the second time. For some reason I never made it past the first 50 pages on my first attempt. I'm not sure why because I love Singh's writing. I kind of noticed that I'm falling behind on the Changeling/Psy series and decided it was time I caught up before I got so far behind that I couldn't catch up.

This got me to thinking about the other series I no longer read - why did I stop reading them? Okay, some of them it was because they changed radically from the original concept but for some of them it seems I just stalled and never started reading them again. Are there any similarities between the series I've abandoned or is it just that I spend a lot less time reading now that I have in previous years. (Two or three years ago I'd manage at least three books a week, now if I manage one I'm doing well.)

So anyway I thought I'd look at a few of the series I'd stopped reading.

Changeling/Psy series by Nalini Singh. I have to admit this one is a bit of a mystery. (Not a good start to the post - sorry about that). I have the next two books in the series following Hostage to Pleasure on my TBR pile. But for some reason after I gave up on HtP the first time I just never got round to it again.

The Stardoc series by S. L. Viehl. Another series I love and stopped reading at Rebel Ice. Now I think I know the reason for this one. I seriously overglommed - I went into Cherijo overload. I think I read from Stardoc to Eternity Row in the course of two weeks. I need to go back and read the series from the beginning taking everything in properly. The thing I like about this series is that it has an end point. The last book (I think) has just been released. So now would be a good time to get back to it.

Stephanie Plum series. I stopped reading at book 8, possible earlier. This is the first series mentioned that I don't really have any interest in getting back to. Even though I have books 9 and 10 on my TBR pile. I think I realized I was reading the same book over and over. I also don't think it helped that at the time I was reading some fantastic fanfiction that dealt with Stephanie and Ranger in a much more interesting way than the series. I have the idea that the book that put me off is the one where Ranger and Stephanie finally got together (half a page IIRC) and after several books building up to a firework display complete with shooting stars...it was more of a damp squib really.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R.Ward. Now I'm very naughty with this series and I admit it. The main character I'm interested in is John Matthew and because of the way the books are structured you can flick through and read one character's arc and find out what happened to them first. However in Lover Avenged he turned into a bit of a wanker which kind of put me off reading the rest of the book properly.

I never got past the first book in Meljean Brook's brilliant Guardian series I think because they're just so darn long and I feel the need to have a large chunk of time available to sit down and read them. I read the first book on an 8 hour train journey. And I just haven't have any long train journey's since then. This is definitely another series I want to get caught up on. Love her writing and The Iron Duke is possibly the book I have most looked forward to in the second half of this year.

:sigh:

If nothing else this has helped me decide that my reading challenge for next year will be to catch up on as many series as possible.

So do you have any series that you've abandoned that you want to get back into? Or once you've given up do you never go back? I have a copy of Sexiest Man Alive by Diana Holquist to give away to one poster to this post. Winner to be chosen by random number at random.org on Saturday.

For anyone...

2010-08-13T15:28:00.002+02:00

...who doesn't get over to After Elton every day to read the memes. The link to this youtube video was posted today (I think).

Winner of the Book Prejudices Giveaway...

2010-08-08T21:31:00.002+02:00

is

LSUReader

She posted the 4th comment from people who wanted to enter the giveaway and the number picked at random.org was 4.

I have a copy of The Vampire Shrink to send to you.

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

2010-08-06T20:12:00.005+02:00

Before I start, something I don't have to say very often on the blog - but just to let you know I received this book to review.

Unholy Ghosts is the first in the Downside Ghosts series and introduces us to the world of Chess Putnam a ghost hunter in the employ of The Church of Real Truth. In a world where the dead have risen (as ghosts) and attack the living, it's Chess's job to expose people who fake hauntings for compensation and to banish the real ghosts. Chess has other problems, she's a drug addict and owes her dealer a lot of money. He's willing to forgo the debt if she clears some ghosts from an unused airport, but it's not as simple as it sounds.

Before I started reading this I had some misgivings. Stories about addicts have two possible endings - the addict either kicks the habit or dies. But there has to be some growth, some change, in real life things can go on indefinitely but in fiction readers get bored. To be honest I really don't want to invest the time in a series where the protagonist dies at the end.

But overall I'm glad I put my concerns to one side and read the story. I was interested to see if Stacia Kane could make Chess a sympathetic heroine - I think you need to be able to understand or piece together why characters are the way they are. If you can't have sympathy then there needs to be something - a dark edge of humor for example. Would the reader understand why she is the way she is or would you be left wanting to figuratively slap her and tell her to get herself together.

I did find it to be a story of two parts. For the first 150 pages I found it harder going. Addicts tend to be rather tunnel vision in their thinking - I've had a fix, I'm having a fix, I will be having a fix. She owes money to her dealer, she's having to hide her habit from her employer, we get the feeling that something terrible has happened to her but we don't what it is. There's a reason that she's an addict.

The language and names of some of the characters takes a little getting used to. Church employees talk in complete sentences, characters who live in the Downside have weird names - Terrible, Bump, Brain and don't like to use the words - and, are, have, can etc.

On page 153 for the first time I empathise a little with Chess. We learn very little about her from her own thoughts even though it's written in tight third person. It's Terrible's (her drug dealer's enforcer) observations of her that allow us to see her better than she lets us. It's also through him - I think - that she starts to see herself in a different way, the way that he sees her. Terrible thinks she's brave, Terrible knows she'll solve the problem. She also has incredible chemistry with him. When he says (paraphrasing) that he lets some women do whatever they want to him. You can almost feel the heat coming off the book. He was my favourite character. It was from this point that I really got into the book.

It's also from this point that there's an increasing sense of paranoia and claustrophobia that was incredibly well written. There's a scene where she's running away from the bad guys but you're not 100% certain whether they're there or not. Is it in her head? Is it a result of the drugs? And Chess doesn't seem completely sure either. The sense that she's losing it is palpable. At certain points it felt like we were brushing closer to the horror genre than urban fantasy.

One of the characters says - It's like a little hell, this world - and that really encapsulates it for me. There's a beautiful quote by Christopher Marlowe that could have been written for Chess, to describe this world.

Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed
In one self place, but where we are is Hell,
And where hell is there must we ever be.

One thing I must mention before I end the review which I didn't really appreciate until the end of the book is that I didn't have a perfectly clear picture of how the world worked. The city where Chess lives seems very isolated, like a little world of its own. When the people of this place die their ghosts get sent to the City of Dead which is underneath the church. But is there a City of the Dead for EACH city, or is this the only City of the Dead. What about if you're born in this city but move somewhere else, which City of the Dead do you end up in. Or after the apocalypse (when the ghosts roamed free on Earth for a week) is this all that remains of humanity?

I think if you like films like Dark City, Perfect Creature, Gabriel ((which I do :), also very insular, claustrophobic tales ), you know the ones - it's always night, it's always raining - then you will enjoy this book. If you like a darker, different tale this is one I'd recommend, just bear with the first 150 pages.

Book Prejudices

2010-08-02T12:34:00.002+02:00

Hi. My name's Lesley and I'm going to admit that I have book prejudices. In some ways this is a good thing, otherwise every time I went into Waterstones I'd be maxing out my credit card. But maybe it also means that I'm a little harsh on some books that I might otherwise have enjoyed.

Now I'm talking more here about things that stop you picking up a book in the first place or things that you read on the cover which mean that the story has to work harder to pull you in. (Niggles and grumbles with the actual story is a post for another day.)

The Cover itself

Now I hate to admit this but covers do play an important role in book purchases. More if it's a first time author. If it's come down to a choice between two books and one has a great cover and the other has a god-awful one, I know where my money's going to go. I think e-books get away with this more because they aren't going to be on your bookshelf where you have to look at them.

Cover Quotes

I try to take little notice of these because a lot of the time there seems to be little consistency in the recommendations. But one thing that does set off my readerly defences is if a quote says - laugh out loud funny, or any variation on that theme. Mainly because I then open the book almost challenging it to - 'Make me laugh!' And once you're in that mind set it means that the story has to work twice as hard as it might have done without the quote.

Strange character names

If an author is going to call their character Calliope, Ricochet or Teakettle. I wish they'd remember that the reader is going to be stuck with that for the whole book. I'm not saying don't use the name, I'm saying make sure you have a good reason for using it rather than Cathy, Richard or Thomas.

For example Cherijo in the Stardoc novels has that name because it's an acronym of her experiment designation. Also there's probably a little more leeway in science fiction.

Please tell me I'm not alone in my Monday morning moaning. Does anyone else out there share these prejudices or do you have some of your own? I have a copy of The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn to give away to one commenter on this post. Winner to be chosen by random number at randomnumber.org on Saturday.

DIK Challenge Review - The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn

2010-07-31T14:48:00.003+02:00

My DIK reading challenge book for July is The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn. This was a pick of Lea's. Now I guess it had to happen sooner or later but I really didn't get on with this book. Sorry Lea. I feel bad because I know you must like it else you wouldn't have it as one of your picks. But my thoughts are below.

The Vampire Shrink tells the tale of Denver pyschologist Kismet Knight. Kismet doesn't believe in the paranormal, preferring to believe that everything has a rational explanation but when a new client introduces her to the vampire subculture pretty soon she's in over her head. In the midst of a murder investigation Kismet realizes she has feelings not only for vampire Deveraux, but also for an FBI profiler. However, she's also the target of a killer, so her schedule is pretty full up.

What I liked:-

Beautiful cover. Would definitely make me want to pick it up in a bookstore and read the blurb.

I also think the premise was a good one.

However, the major problem I had with the book was that I didn't like Kismet. Always a stumbling point for a first person novel if you can't get on with the protagonist.

Why didn't I like her. The character is constantly telling us what's happening, she's overly aware. Every time I started to sink into the story she'd say or think something that would knock me out of it. She's also pretty up herself.

"Having such fair skin was a blessing most of the time, because I always appeared younger than I was..."

Hmmm. Who looks in a mirror and thinks that about themselves? So unfortunately she comes across as fake - more like an actress playing the character of Kismet rather than Kismet herself.

Also and this isn't a fault of the book as such. But Kismet is always noticing when her nipples get hard. Now I challenge anyone to read The Unfeasibly Tall Greek Billionaire - by Tumperkin, Carrie Lofty, Carolyn Jean, Ann Aguirre, Kate Rothwell and Lisabea. And then take any character who is constantly noticing when her nipples get hard, seriously. I don't think it's possible.

Then once I'd got TUTGB in my head I couldn't get it out. So lines like

"His lap was filled with a large erection."

Struck me as funny when I'm not sure they were meant to. Or if they were meant to I didn't get that they were meant to. And within the first 50 pages she's already got three guys after her. Basically she got on my wick.

Kismet also contradicts herself, says things she couldn't possibly know - commenting on a woman she's only just met she says - she always seemed on the verge of laughing out loud. You've only just met her, how can you possibly know that she 'always' seems on the verge of laughing out loud.

So this one isn't for me. But if everyone liked the same books the world would be a very boring place. The Amazon reviews seem pretty divided as well, so I think this is one you'll either love or hate and I fall into the latter category.

Winner of the...

2010-07-27T10:06:00.002+02:00

Let's Talk Comfort Reads is

Sarai

She posted the ninth comment (from people who wanted to be in the giveaway) and the number chosen at randomnumber.org was 9.

I also now have loads of books to check out when I start buying books again. (I am making a serious attempt this year to get my TBR pile back under some kind of control).

Apologies for not posting the winner yesterday by the time Monday evening got here I'd got a stinking migraine and went to bed.

Let's Talk Comfort Reads

2010-07-21T22:10:00.002+02:00

These are books that might not be your number one best reads ever, but when you're feeling a little down, which books do you reach for? Which books cheer you up?

Here are three of my comfort reads:-

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I first read this book last year and almost immediately appreciated why so many people regard this as their comfort read. There's something incredibly satisfying about Elizabeth and Darcy's story. I'm looking forward to reading the remaining Austen on my shelf.

My remaining two picks are both short stories.

The Prince of Ebon Rih by Anne Bishop (from the Dreams Made Flesh anthology). Anne Bishop's Black Jewels books are probably my favourite books to dip into when I have a spare moment, with TPoER topping the list. It was so disappointing to read the main trilogy and not know anything about how Lucivar and Marian met and fell in love, so this short story really feels like a gift. It's got angst, humour, sex and a kindred wolf - I don't think you can ask for much more. :)

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs (from the On the Prowl anthology). I love the beginning of the Charles and Anna series (so much so I have the limited edition from Subterranean Press on my bookshelf). My favourite moment being when Anna first takes her life back into her own hands by phoning Bran. She's been made to feel like she's nothing but she still finds the courage to do the right thing.

So what are your comfort reads? I have a copy of Dark Protector by Alexis Morgan to give away to one poster to this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number at randomnumber.org on Monday.

Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling

2010-07-14T23:47:00.003+02:00

Luck in the Shadows is the first in the Nightrunner Series by Lynn Flewelling. It opens with Alec of Kerry being freed from prison by his cellmate Seregil of Rhiminee. Seregil is not who he appears to be, and not who he pretends to be either. But he offers to take on Alec as his apprentice and Alec agrees despite not perhaps knowing exactly what he's letting himself in for. Before long the two of them are up to their necks in trouble, plots and betrayal and this is only the beginning.

It's not often I read more traditional fantasy, I guess I'm stuck in something of an urban rut, but I really loved Luck in the Shadows. One of my favourite things is when you open a book and rather than reading a story it feels like your catching up with friends.

So basically the kingdom is in peril from an unknown threat, but does the danger come from within or without. In a world of secrets, spies, liars, forgers and thieves, how do you know who's telling the truth.

This is very much the first book in a series, plans are set in motion, mysteries are discovered but it quickly becomes apparent that this is only the tip of the iceberg. There is more than one plot and more than one player. I love that the intelligence of the reader isn't insulted, not everything is spelled out, there are mysteries that are obviously going to unfurl over the course of the series. I admit to not always being 100% sure of what's going on - but that's what re-reads are for. :) I also think it accurately reflects the state the characters find themselves in.

Alec is only 16 and something of an innocent (though not for long in Seregil's company) and he acts as a 'window' for the reader into the world of Skala, Mycena and Auren. He's very enthusiastic about the Fae and excited about the possibility of seeing dragons and centaurs. As Nysander says of him :-

"...it is always refreshing to meet someone as ingenuous as yourself. So many who come here expect revelations of mythic proportions - ...They have no awe left in them for the little marvels. All their wonder has turned to appetite."

Seregil is more of an enigma, it seems every thing we learn about him opens up more questions. He has some magical ability but not enough to be a wizard. He's a thief and a quick thinker. And sometimes he's a little obtuse when it comes to other people's feelings. Seregil doesn't always understand why Alec is upset with him and Alec can't always explain. The two of them end up getting frustrated, very realistic behaviour in a developing friendship. But eventually they come to an understanding.

"There'll be times I choose not to tell you something, but I won't lie to you. That's a promise and there's my hand on it."

One of my favourite parts of the book is the intrinsic nature spell that Nysander casts on Alec and Seregil revealing their inner animal spirit. In fact I think all the transformation spells were little highlights in the story - especially the owl and the brick. :)

At the end of the story I'm left wanting to know what's going to happen next - be warned there's something of a disturbing cliffhanger. But I think wanting the story to continue is one of the best feelings you can have about a book. :)

* - I don't think this has been one of my best reviews. But I found it a very hard book to review, it's something of a minefield, there's so much I don't want to give away. I'd love to share and gush but perhaps the best thing to say is that if you like fantasy and haven't read The Nightrunner series yet, maybe you should give it a try.

Persuasion (2007)

2010-07-10T21:09:00.002+02:00

Very disappointing. :(

The most important scene in the book - where Captain Wentworth writes the letter - isn't there. All that repressed passion and emotion is replaced by a scene of Anne running all over Bath trying to find Captain Wentworth.

And at the end Captain Wentworth has bought Kellynch for Anne as a wedding present. Did I miss something? I thought Kellynch was entailed.

Not a version I would recommend.

Winner of Challenge Update Giveaway...Updated

2010-07-04T00:32:00.003+02:00

...is

LSUReader

I redrew the draw(?) :) And random.number org picked 6. LSUReader was the 6th posted to the thread. So I have a copy of Basket of Wishes waiting to be posted to you. :)

DIK Challenge - Persuasion by Jane Austen

2010-06-30T22:32:00.003+02:00

My June DIK Challenge book is Persuasion by Jane Austen. This is the first time in the challenge I have chosen a second book from the same DIK lady. Persuasion was a choice of Renee. I think what decided me on this book was a post Renee wrote on her blog about her favourite book moment.

Anyhow - on with the review. I read my first Jane Austen book last year, and I guess like a lot of people my first book was Pride and Prejudice (which I loved). I think in the back of my mind I always thought the next Austen book I'd read would be Emma - as I'm reasonably familiar with the story. Methinks along with P&P it's the most adapted for film and television (Sense & Sensibility is probabaly right up there too). I was unfamiliar with the story of Persuasion so approached the story with some apprehension - was my love of P&P just a fluke.

No. :)

However, I did find Pride and Prejudice easier to get into. But I think a large part of this is the abovementioned familiarity with the story. I think once I've read Persuasion a couple more times it's grade will probably also be A.

Persuasion tells the story of Anne Elliot. Eight years ago she rejected the man she loved - Captain Wentworth - because her friends and family persuaded her that he wasn't rich or important enough. Now, he's back and it's his turn to reject her. Is all hope lost, or will Anne be able to regain the affection of her Captain?

I don't think readers should be put off by the fact that Jane Austen wrote these stories nearly two hundred years ago. Once you sink into the language, you quickly come to appreciate that her themes are timeless, she also has a way of condensing the traits of a character into a single sentence or phrase.

Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot's character; vanity of person and of situation.

So you're immediately able to understand the character's place in the story.

The prose is elegant and beautiful to read, with the feeling that every single word has been chosen with care.

Still, however, she had enough to feel! It was agitation, pain, pleasure, a something between delight and misery.

It's particularly interesting to see when the word persuasion/persuade is used. One of the things I love most is that Austen lets the reader see things for themselves. Some characters behave in a hypocritical manner but you are never told this, you see how they behave and discover the characters for yourself. You need to pay attention to what characters are saying, who they are saying it to and compare it to the conversations they have with other characters. I think this is why the more times you read Austen the deeper your appreciation becomes. (Lol - well this is my opinion after having read two books.)

For the majority of the story Anne and Captain Wentworth are apart. Even though they've been apart for eight years, each still needs to grow that little bit more. Austen brings her hero and heroine's together at exactly the right moment - whether it's the putting aside of pride and prejudice, or seeing what had been there all along. And I completely agree with Renee about her favourite book moment. I encourage you to go and read her post as she speaks about it far more eloquently than I. When Anne reads the letter that Captain Wentworth has written to her, it brings a smile of joy to your face and a warm glow to your heart.

I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half in agony, half in hope. Tell me not that I am too late. That such precious feelings are gone forever.

This is definitely a book that I will come back and read again, and makes me more determined than ever to read the remaining Austen books on my shelf.

Spookily the 2007 version of Persuasion starring Rupert Penry-Jones and Sally Hawkins was on tv this week and I recorded it, now I've read the book I'm going to treat myself to watching the adaptation.

Apropos of Nothing the Google Doodle...

2010-06-29T17:51:00.005+02:00

yesterday was of The Little Prince:-

If you go today it's back to the usual format.

I was quite chuffed with myself when I used it at work and thought Why is the Google a drawing from The Little Prince?

Well it's the 110th anniversary of Antoine de Saint-Exupery who wrote The Little Prince. He was born on 29th June 1900.

The Little Prince contains one of my favourite lines in literature and something well worth remembering.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."

If you've never read The Little Prince I'd urge you to give it a read, even if only once. If nothing else, when I read it, it made me appreciate how easily we lose the gift of our imagination.

Edited to update post - the drawing was only there on the 29th, but I'm glad I spotted it. :) Made me get my copy off the bookshelf and have a re-read. :)

Challenge Update

2010-06-29T01:34:00.002+02:00

We're roughly halfway through the year so this seems like a good opporunity to review how I'm doing with my reading challenges. The overall response so far is probably best summed up as - could do better.

DIK Challenge

Currently 5/12 books. Pretty much right on track, just need to get June's book finished and reviewed.

M/M Challenge

Currently 5/20 books. Maybe I should have picked one of the smaller challenges. Will have to try and squeeze more m/m books in during the second half of 2010

52 books in 52 weeks

So far only read 15 books! That seems a very small number. Way behind on this one, not sure I'll make it to 52.

12 Knitting/Crocheting Projects
4/12. Two jumpers, a pair of socks and a crochet throw. Don't think I'll make it up to 12 projects, that was admittedly a little too ambitious. Maybe 8 would be a more realistic target. Have started my fifth project a sweater in Araucania Patagonia, and had to undo it because I can't get the ******* tension right. Am leaving it a few days before I try again.

So what about you? Did you start any reading/knitting challenges in January? Are you on target or have you given up? Have you readjusted your challenges or are you going to try and make an extra effort in the next six months. Any hints or tips for getting back on track or is the journey more important than the destination? :)

I've a copy of A Basket of Wishes by Rebecca Paisley to give to one poster to this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number at randomnumber.org on Saturday.

Anybody else seen this link...

2010-06-21T22:32:00.001+02:00

...on AfterElton?

To The Straight Guy at the Party Last Night

Well worth following and reading if you haven't. :)

Winner of the When Good Characters Go Bad Giveaway

2010-06-19T23:48:00.002+02:00

Winner of the When Good Characters Go Bad Giveaway is...

Sullivan McPig

Number chosen at randomnumber.org was 1 and Sullivan was the first poster. There's a copy of Shadows and Lace waiting to be posted to you.

Three Words I Hate

2010-06-17T22:41:00.003+02:00

A little bit of a grumble.

Okay - three words I hate.

What's the point?

Not sure if those were the three words you were expecting. :) I get so fed up of hearing - What's the point of :-

recycling
conservation
picking up your own litter
anything!

Feel free to insert your own activity of choice. What's the point of me doing it when nobody else is? What's the point when it only makes a small difference? What if Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Martin Luther King...what if the suffragettes had said that?

Instead of asking what's the point?Ask instead, is it a good thing to do, is it the right thing to do, is it of benefit? And if the answer is yes, maybe that's the point. Or in other words stop moaning and get on with it.

Grump over.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

2010-06-16T21:49:00.003+02:00

Some Spoilers May Follow

The Thief tells the story of Gen a thief who bragged he could steal anything. Unfortunately the only thing his boasting gets him is thrown in the king's prison. Then the king's magus approaches Gen with an offer - the chance to steal a hidden treasure, to commit an impossible crime. Gen knows that this is only a temporary reprieve, but he is a thief with plans of his own.

I wasn't sure about this. I'd read quite a few reviews (all positive) but I didn't know if it would be my sort of thing. I needn't have worried because I loved the story.

I don't think I've read that many unreliable narrator stories. Most of the heroes and heroines I read are pretty straightforward, no-nonsense characters, so The Thief made a refreshing change. I liked that Megan Whalen Turner was able to get us onto Gen's side even though we aren't completely aware of his motives.

Whether or not you like this book will depend (I think) on whether or not you like the character of Gen. He's a boy who thinks very quickly on his feet, and he's got a very smart mouth.

"I pointed out that he'd been no help at the ford. He pointed out that I had climbed a tree. I pointed out that I had no sword. He offered to give me his, point first."

He makes very cutting and snarky observations about his travelling companions, even when he should perhaps keep his own counsel.

At one point I muttered, "You learn something new every day."
"What are you learning?" Sophos asked.
"To keep my mouth shut, I hope."

We learn about the history and myths of the world as the magus quizzes Sophos and Ambiades (apprentices to the magus and christened Useless the Younger and Useless the Elder by Gen) during the course of the journey. It's worth trying to see the story through Gen's eyes, rather than just reading it. His observations give you important clues to the truth of what's going on, though you often don't realize that until further into the story.

Perhaps what I most enjoyed was the relationships that Gen builds with his would-be captors - the magus, Sophos, and Pol the soldier who guards him. Gen is something of an unremitting brat, but you understand his position, he's a prisoner, he's not there to make life easy for everyone else. However, you sometimes make friends and build relationships despite the circumstances you find yourself in.

This is a book you could read over and over again, each time getting something different from the story. I am very much looking forward to reading the next books in the trilogy.

When Good Characters Go Bad

2010-06-15T22:55:00.002+02:00

Have you ever really loved a character only to have them change into a completely different person between one book and the next?

Is this just a matter of personal interpretation? You think that they've changed but actually you're wrong. Have you misjudged everything about the character to the point where you didn't see what was blindingly obvious to the rest of the readership? Or on the other hand, you're not going mad and they've definitely changed.

Is it ever acceptable for a character to do a complete 180 personality wise - as regards beliefs, character traits etc. - with no other explanation than, that's the way it is.

A couple of examples. (My personal opinions other readers may disagree)

For me John Matthew of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series changed in Lover Avenged. Up until that book he'd been my favourite character and my main reason for following the series. I loved that though he was young and unsure of himself and his worth, he had a depth and vulnerability that put you firmly on his side. Unfortunately in Lover Avenged he turned into a bit of a wanker. (I now find I'm reading the series for the relationship between Blay and Qhuinn).

Another character who suffered an extreme personality change was Nicolette Peltier of the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. She'd always been portrayed as this earth mother type, firm but fair. However, in the book Unleash the Night she turns into a right cow (for want of a better description). Apparently all the compassion, understanding and diplomacy she showed in the previous books was just for show.

I'm sure there are other cases where I've read something and thought Noooooo, that character just wouldn't do/say that. Don't you remember way back in book 2 he said he'd never do x,y or z. (Insert the appropriate action in place of the algebra)

Are there characters who you feel have changed without good reason? Or has this phenomenon never happened to you? (In which case consider yourself lucky)

I have a copy of Shadows and Lace by Teresa Medeiros* to give away to one poster to this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number at randomnumber.org on Saturday.

* Yep the giveaway is going a bit historical. :)

Winner of Who Owns the Story?...

2010-06-12T23:28:00.004+02:00

...giveaway is

Booklover0226

She was the 5th poster and the number chosen at random.org was 5. Hopefully winning a book will make up for the fact that we've confused her. :) Booklover send me a mail at

lesley7312 at yahoo dot com

(words changed to the appropriate symbols) with your snail mail details and I'll get your copy of Kitty and the Silver bullet out to you.

And yet again I haven't posted The Thief review, this WILL get done. I've unfortunately spent the last three days poorly in bed. Hopefully there will be much more blogging done next week.

Who Owns The Story?

2010-06-07T07:43:00.002+02:00

Firstly I'm not sure that owns is the right word here but it feels the most appropriate. And there's a lot of topic here, so I may carry some of this over to next week.

I've recently read a couple of author interviews and over time 'witnessed' a few author meltdowns via the internet about how readers choose to interpret stories.

So who does a story belong to? Who gets to decide what it means?

My own take on this is that once a story is published it 'belongs' to the reader. If a reader chooses to interpret a story in a certain way then I think usually it's either because the author made things too vague allowing the story to be interpreted in that way, the author was influencing the reader in a certain way as a source of misdirection or the author wanted to take advantage of the wishes of the minority of their fans whilst reserving the right to write whatever they want to.

Vagueness - I don't really have a problem with. I like when authors give their readers credit. I want to engage my brain when I read. I want to puzzle things out. I don't like always having everything spelt out for me. For me the joy of reading is engaging your imagination and the more someone chooses to guide you through the specifics the less you get to do that.

Misdirection - I don't really have a problem with. :) For all the above reasons to do with vagueness. I read a LOT. And if an author can get me to think one thing while really something else is happening I love it. Mainly because this increases the re-readability of a story by 100%. To read through a story for the second time and see where you read all the signs wrong, to have the insight of knowing where a story is going, is one of the best parts of reading and it happens so rarely. (Recently read The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner which has one of these moments and I'll hopefully have the review of that up this week - loved it).

I don't have a problem with vagueness or misdirection. If it's done well the reader will 'get it'. If it's done badly it's no use the author throwing their teddies out of the pram if a reader chooses to interpret the story in their own way.

I believe the author should write the story they want to write to the best of their ability. If a fan/group of fans says they want an ethnic character or a gay character or they want a certain couple to end up together* the author should ignore it unless it's organic to the story they were already telling, unless that's where they were already going. You can't please all of the people all of the time and you shouldn't try to, you'll just end up disappointing (and annoying) everybody.

So who does a story belong to? I have a copy of Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn to give away to one poster to this thread. Winner to be chosen at random by random number at randomnumber.org. on Saturday (I add here that as far as I'm aware Carrie Vaughn has never thrown her teddies out of the pram, it just happens that I have two copies of KatSB after accidentally buying a second copy. An occasional hazard of having such a HUGE TBR pile.)

*I admit this is something I'm guilty of as a reader. Sometimes you can't help yourself.

Winner of the Multiple Series/Same Author...

2010-06-05T21:59:00.002+02:00

...giveaway is

Li

She was the fourth poster who wanted to be entered into the draw and the number chosen at random.org was 4.

I have a copy of Dark Thirst waiting for you.

Multiple Series/Same Author

2010-06-02T22:54:00.002+02:00

Thanks for the suggestions last week. They will definitely keep my musings topics going for the next month or so.

This week I read a review of Anne Bishop's Black Jewels books - a series that I love. And it got me to thinking why I've never been able to get into the other series she writes. And why this seems to be the case with certain authors but others I can read all the series they write.

Black Jewels is a series I've enjoyed since I read the first trilogy. But I've not been able to get into either the Ephemera books or the Tir Alainn. I struggled through the first Tir Alainn book before giving up. I'm not sure if this is a case of subject matter not appealing or the writing style being subtly different. Is the association with the Black Jewels books so strong that I don't want to get into the other series?

When I was reading the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon I was never interested in following her other series.

This isn't the case with all authors. I love Kelley Armstrong's writing whether it's the Otherworld series or the Nadia Stafford. In fact I think I'm more eagerly looking forward to the next Nadia book. And I love Lynn Viehl's Darkyn books and also the Stardoc books she writes as S.L. Viehl. Having said that I have yet to start her new Kyndred series though I've heard nothing but good things about the first book and it's been on my TBR pile for a while.

So do you think it's easier to follow multiple series if the authors stick to similar genres? Or does it have nothing to do with that? Are there series that you love and series that you hate written by the same author? Or are you faithful to whatever your favourite author writes?

I have a copy of Dark Thirst by Sara Reinke to giveaway to one poster to this thread. Winner chosen by random number at randomnumber.org on Saturday.

DIK Challenge Review - The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

2010-05-31T20:55:00.003+02:00

My pick for May is The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie one of KristieJ's choices, and a book that has proven very popular in the challenge. I've read quite a few reviews of it, and I guess that's one of the reasons I chose it. Regular readers of the blog will know that I'm not really a fan of historicals BUT my DIK pick success rate continues this is another book that I enjoyed and I'm looking forward to reading the remaining books in the Mackenzie series (even though I'm going to have to wait 'til 2012 'til they're all released).

TMoLIM tells the story of Lord Ian Mackenzie who was placed in an asylum as a youth and only released on the death of his father. The tragedy is that today he would probably have been diagnosed with a form of autism, but instead he was subjected to ice baths and electric shock treatments in an effort to cure him. Released from the asylum by his brother, he has used his talents to increase his family's fortunes. Lord Ian has an intrinsic appreciation for the true value of things, whether it's a priceless Ming bowl or Beth, the fiance of another man.

The thing I loved most about the story is how completely Jennifer Ashley is able to put the reader into Ian's point of view. She really makes you appreciate how he perceives things and how his inability to interact with people causes them to misunderstand him. Also how difficult it makes it for Beth to find her place in the relationship she has with Ian - he is quite clear that he doesn't understand what love is. Too often in romances I feel that the 'I love you's' come too soon and the emotions come after. That wasn't the case here.

Although one of the main plots of TMoLIM deals with the fact that Ian is suspected of carrying out a murder by an obsessed Scotland Yard detective, what made the story for me was the developing relationship between Ian and Beth.

Beth has been in love before, she's had a good if somewhat comfortable marriage. Ian, on the other hand can understand desire and want, the almost logical emotions if you will, but love is a concept that eludes him.

"I wouldn't expect love from you. I can't love you back."

However, it is almost like he understands that in her, he can somehow 'touch' what is absent in himself. He is drawn to her and is painfully honest about his intentions.

This was also a good introduction to the Mackenzie series and family. There are four brothers - Ian, Mac, Cameron and Hart - and obviously they are each getting their own story. TMoLIM serves not only as Ian's story but it also sketches out the family background, we get intriguing hints about Mac's relationship with his estranged wife, Hart's sexual predilections, and the tragedy of Cameron's marriage. None of these overshadow the main story, just leave you wanting to know more.

The relationship between Ian and Beth develops over the course of the book and is one of the most rewarding m/f romances I have read recently. And even though it's a historical :), this is definitely a series I will be following

Winner of No Inspiration Giveaway...

2010-05-30T00:16:00.002+02:00

is...

Sullivan McPig

I have a copy of Atlantis Rising waiting to be posted to you.

Number chosen at random.org was 1 and SM was the first poster who wanted to be included in the giveaway.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions I have some fresh ideas for my musings. :)

No Inspiration

2010-05-25T22:38:00.004+02:00

I didn't post yesterday as it has been sweltering here in the UK and I've been suffering with a migraine / heat stroke.

I should be posting something today but find my inspiration has dried up.

So for this weeks giveaway, in the comments can you offer me some interesting subjects to muse about - preferably in some way linked to UF fiction. :) If I can have some subjects to keep me going for the next few weeks even better.

I have a copy of Atlantis Rising by Alyssa Day to give away to one poster to the thread. Winner chosen at random at randomnumber.org. and result posted on Saturday.

I am Seriously Considering...

2010-05-19T22:57:00.002+02:00

...renaming this blog Lesley's Book Nook & Knitting Cupboard.

I spent most of the past week not sewing up the pink jumper (as I really should) but starting the front of my next jumper which I'm knitting in Noro.

As a consequence the amount of reading I'm doing is taking a sharp decline. If it continues I may have to post pictures of my (not very good) knitting so I at least have some blog content. I have completely not posted my reading musings this week, so that will carry over to next Monday. Hopefully my review of The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner will make an appearance before the end of the week.

Haven't heard back from s7anna yet, so if I don't by Friday I will redo the draw for last weeks book.

Winner of the...

2010-05-15T23:14:00.002+02:00

...Words you'd like to have banned giveaway is...

s7anna

I have a copy of Wicked Game waiting to be posted to you.

Whoops - forgot to put s7anna was the 5th comment by those taking part in the giveaway and the number chosen at random.org was 5.

Words you'd like to have banned

2010-05-12T01:33:00.002+02:00

I know I've mentioned this topic before but it's one I feel a need to return to.

Yes, I feel the urge to moan coming on.

There are certain words - and I'm not talking about swear words here - that I find really start to annoy when I read.

My major bugbear has to be - 'literally' - please can't we ban this word from fiction already. It really gets on my wick. Mainly because most of the time it's unnecessary, it's the word equivalent of an exclamation mark.

Now it's also closely followed by 'actually' in the annoyance rankings, a word which seems to be cropping up more and more often. This is almost amusing in that it's one of those words that people often overuse in television interviews (along with 'obviously').

Speaking of exclamation marks...lol...I think it was Dean Koontz who said that authors should treat that punctuation mark as if they had a finite amount to use in their writing career. Once they'd used them up, that was it, they couldn't use them any more. I tend to associate them with SHOUTING, especially if they're being overused. No one talks in exclamations all the time. If you ever think you're using too many in your writing, or an author may have got carried away with them, simply convert the exclaimed dialogue into upper case. IT GIVES A GREAT VISUAL CLUE!

Unusual words often stand out. I love the word 'susarration' it's so descriptive. But, chances are if you read a lot of novels that feature angels, it's going to crop up a lot.

So are there any words that annoy you? I have a copy of Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready to give away to one person who comments on this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number (randomnumber.org) on Saturday.