Just Read
The Better Part of Darkness
This debut—for the series and author—was average. Just average. Charlie Madigan is an officer of the law in modern Atlanta, tasked in part with keeping humans, Elysians, and Charbydons from stepping out of line. In Charlie’s world, two more worlds have been discovered. This relatively recent discovery has resulted in an influx of off-world immigrants to the larger American cities—like Atlanta. As the book progresses, Charlie and her partner, Hank—a siren from Elysia—must solve the mysterious introduction of a deadly (to humans) off-world drug, all while trying to keep their loved ones safe. There’s nothing especially unique about anything in the storyline. While Gay’s writing is easy to follow for the most part, for the first half of the book I was left wondering if I’d missed a prequel short-story. There is much mention about how Charlie died a few months back, and of her subsequent return to life (integral to the storyline), but Gay continuously refers to it as if we know the whole story from previous reading. By the end of the book, it can be pieced together, but it is not a good way to begin a series, in my estimation. Will I read book 2, The Darkest Edge of Dawn
? Yes, but with hope that Gay improves with experience. … Continue reading Virals
Reichs’ first foray into the YA genre was everything I hoped for. Although Reichs’ writing fell victim to the “must drop brand names in as descriptors everywhere” regime that defines current YA editing, the story retained a style that can easily appeal to many generations overall. Containing far more mystery than sci-fy—Reichs’ forte—the story line had perfect pacing and never fell flat. Main character Tory’s tie to Tempe Brennan (main character of Reichs’ other series, and yes, the same Tempe as in Bones), seemed an unnecessary addition to the plot line; were Reichs’ editors afraid she couldn’t sell without some connection to her existing bibliography? If you like light mystery and don’t mind a little sci-fy thrown in, this is a great read. If you want to ditch the sci-fy, check out Reichs’ other novels. … Continue reading
Posted in Ravenously Read
Tagged Just Read, Kathy Reichs, Suggested Book, Young Adult
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Blameless
As always, I adore Carriger’s psuedo-steampunk world and well-written witticisms. However, this third installment suffered quite painfully of the disease known as little-to-no character development. We learn enough to keep us coming back for more, but so many rising characters are rather two dimensional, it’s getting a bit boring. Even the development of Alexia and Lord Maccon has stalled. Toward the end, we do learn that Alexia's infant inconvenience as she calls it is not unprecedented, but even then, proper exploration and development is not provided. Regardless of the slight disappointment, I’m still infatuated with parasols and am again anxiously awaiting the next volume. … Continue reading The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
I had a bit of time and hadn’t been reading much lately, so I decided to take this newest Twilight world novella for a spin. I should have chosen something else. It wasn’t particularly bad, but it wasn’t anything special. The main gripe I had is that the focus is on these street kids that are being turned into vamps, and so—for the most part—the dialogue is as you’d expect, but then Meyers has them drop some vocab of the day word. It’s jarring. That, and I’m kind of tired of the whole Twilight world. … Continue reading
Dead in the Family
I’m rather disappointed with this newest Sookie book. There wasn’t appreciable amount of character development for any of the existing characters (except when Sookie tells us that their disposition has changed) and many of the newer characters seem like one-off appearances that won’t be integral to the future storyline (and will need far more development if they return). There was a noticeable lack of action compared to the others and the entire story just seemed like fluff for the series. The full storyline of the book seemed better suited to a shorter novella. Here’s to hoping the series doesn’t continue going downhill. … Continue reading
My Soul to Save
In book one, Kaylee learns that she’s a bean sidhe (banshee), not just a slightly-psychotic teenage human. This time around, she learns her soul song can’t save every soul, but that won’t stop her from trying. This is a good follow up to My Soul to Take; Vincent’s writing works well for YA. … Continue reading
Demon Bound
A little slow to start, but once it got going it had plenty of steam. Still having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around Pete and Jack, but Kittredge writes the two characters well. Looking forward to book three. … Continue reading
Flirt
I had hopes with book 17 that the series was improving, but alas. This one is short, and reads like a monotonous how-to, rather than an interesting bit of fiction. Hamilton should have stuck to her normal publishing schedule. I hate stopping mid-series, but I'm strongly considering it with Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. … Continue reading
Soulless
Oh my, was this book devine. The right amount of absurdist-ism set in Victorian England combined with Vampires and Werewolves meant that I was thoroughly enthralled! … Continue reading
Bound by Sin
Cin finds some balance in Savannah, GA while rescuing her cousin. While left wanting to know more about Morrigan’s plans, this book wasn’t as good as the first two. … Continue reading
