Social Sunday
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Friends
Current Mood:
Flirtatious
I had a lovely day. This afternoon I went to Fuddruckers with James, Steve and some other folks. We went by Phoenix and Dragon on the way home.
Then I spent several hours chatting with an old friend online. We got all caught up and he taught me something, too. We shared some great memories. I’ll be going to be remembering a certain velvet and satin dress and Maroc, the perfume I wore when I met him.
Review: Hunt the Moon by Karen Chance
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews, Reading
Current Mood:
Bored
Hunt the Moon by Karen Chance
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Chance must have thought readers were bored with the Cassandra/Mircea match, because much of this book is spent with Cassie falling for Pritkin without really being aware that she’s getting into dangerous territory.
Palmer isn’t one of my favorite characters. She isn’t an ass-kicker, but she’s probably somewhat more realistic than most paranormal heroines for that fact. She’s coming into her own by standing up to Mircea more in this volume, but she does it in childish ways. I find her annoying partially because I’d hate to try protecting her from herself, much less anyone else.
I don’t honestly understand why Mircea and Pritkin are attracted to her, either, but part of the romance formula is the heroine has to be irresistible to at least one, preferably more than one man. I do find Mircea and Pritkin interesting (they just have bad taste in women), so they and the plots hold my interest.
To be fair, Cassie seems to be growing up a little bit. Not entirely, but she’s growing a little. She does vehemently claim to care about whether or not other people get hurt trying to protect her.
This book also serves as backstory time for Mircea and Pritkin, as we learn a lot more about their pasts. Things drag a bit while they relate their stories, and in fact there seems to be little point in what we hear from Mircea (readers of the series already know a lot about his family and history).
Altogether, I wouldn’t have read it if I weren’t already so far into the series. I do wish Chance would switch focus to another character. (I’m aware of the Dorina Basarab series set in the same universe, and consider them to be better books in general). I suppose that’s unlikely, seeing as it’s the Cassandra Palmer series.
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Tags: Cassandra Palmer, Fantasy, Karen Chance, paranormal romance
Review: Spellbound by Kelley Armstrong
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews, Reading
Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Waking the Witch and Spell Bound should truly be read back to back. In fact, they should be read with 13 on hand, almost as a trilogy within the series.
At the end of Waking the Witch, Savannah silently thought that if it would reunite an orphan with her grandmother, Savannah would gladly give up her powers. Something heard her and took her up on that unintended deal, and she finds herself powerless for the first time in her life.
Savannah has always been so very powerful that she has counted on her spells more than most witches or sorcerors do, so she finds living without them to be very difficult — especially since a witch hunter and others are after her. There’s a Supernatural Liberation Movement that wants to use her as one of its figureheads, with or without her coöperation, in their quest to bring supernaturals out of the closet and into the spotlight. She has to do some serious soul-searching and growth in the process of avoiding enemies and getting creative about staying alive.
The plot moves extremely quickly, so much so that I couldn’t keep track of what day it was in the book. In fact, it moves right into the plot of 13. I’m having fits because I don’t have it on hand, and I just can’t wait for the library to get around to me on the hold list — I might have to break down and buy it instead.
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Tags: Fantasy, Kelley Armstrong, Women of the Otherworld
Review: Aftermath by Ann Aguirre
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews, Reading
Current Mood:
Cool
Aftermath by Ann Aguirre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Leave it to Aguirre to take her heroine in a direction that is apparently pissing off at least half of her readers (those who expected romance). Sirantha Jax is in fine form in Aftermath, staying strong and true to herself through an all-new set of trials (literally) and troubles. Loyal Velith stays by her side throughout, continuing to depict a friendship that goes beyond mere romance.
I don’t normally mine books for quotes as I read them, but two bits stuck with me from this book. Musing, Jax thinks, “… the world moves on, even when you don’t want it to, even when change feels like the end of everything. It never stops. That’s harsh and magical and somewhat comforting because nothing is immutable, however much we want it to be. Moments cannot be caught like fossils in amber, ever-perfect, ever-beautiful. They go dark and raw, full of shadows, leaving you with the memories. And the world moves on.”
Later, Velith says, “The heart is not a glass of water, but more like an endlessly pumping spring.”
There is so much wisdom about love and relationships in those words that I will remember this book far longer than the plot details will necessarily stay with me.
The plot is, of course, as can always be expected of Aguirre, good. It hangs together well. There was a little drag this time, but not much. I am eagerly awaiting the release of Endgame later this month, and will be purchasing it as soon as it’s released.
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Tags: Ann Aguirre, Science Fiction, Sirantha Jax
Review: Killbox by Ann Aguirre
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews, Reading
Current Mood:
Surprised
Killbox by Ann Aguirre
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Killbox won’t make any sense without reading the previous three books, and I honestly feel that I should have gone back and re-read them before starting it. I was impatient for more fresh Aguirre after finishing Shady Lady, though, and Killbox is what I had on the Nook.
I really love Sirantha Jax’s strength and complexity. She has grown and changed a great deal over the four books of the series, and reflects on the changes in herself during this book. Her relationship with March has deepened, as well. The depiction of a mature relationship being tested, rather than one that is fresh and new, is a nice switch from most of the books I’ve read recently.
The friendship between Velith and Jax is also a treasure. It is rare to see a pure friendship between a male and a female in fiction, without any sexual tension entering the picture. We’re reminded that while he is an alien, Velith has had a human lover in the past, so it isn’t as if that is impossible between the two — it just doesn’t occur.
The book isn’t solely about relationships, of course — I just appreciate how well Aguirre depicts relationships in and around the excellent plot. That’s the part that you need background to understand.
The Morgut keep coming, a bigger threat than ever: they’re colonizing instead of raiding. Jax secured a treaty with the Ithiss-Tor (Velith’s people), but there’s no help from them coming yet. Humanity’s survival is on the line. Aguirre depicts battle believably, giving a sense of the horror without dwelling too much on gore.
Lovers are torn apart, established characters die, new ones come on stage. It’s impossible to know at any given moment whether anyone, including Jax, will survive from scene to scene. That certainly kept me reading, and I think it will engage you, as well.
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Tags: Ann Aguirre, Science Fiction, Sirantha Jax
