I'll be honest, this isn't worth 4stars.... but it's hovering below 3stars on GR and it's definitely better than that! I read this in a string of bookI'll be honest, this isn't worth 4stars.... but it's hovering below 3stars on GR and it's definitely better than that! I read this in a string of books recommended in Romantasy and it's the only one I've been able to finish. I think it might be a standalone which is too bad because I am actually interested in knowing what happens next. The romance side of it was pretty dumb - mostly just vampire kinkiness with a weird side of 'they accept me for my whole self, particularly my compulsive lying self!' --- which was just weird. The compulsive lying was meant to make the main character interesting but was ham-handed and didn't make her interesting or sympathetic/troubled at all - it just made her a clunky unreliable narrator. That being said, she's a badass and a fighter and she manages to team up with a few allies to maybe/hopefully get out of a fatal situation in one piece and it's interesting to see. ...more
a well-written spicy regency romance with the usual tropes but better flirting in the front end than most
the byline is stupid cause I read it and didna well-written spicy regency romance with the usual tropes but better flirting in the front end than most
the byline is stupid cause I read it and didn't realize I had already read the book till I picked it up... it should be: husband-hunting gal runs into the most eligible bachelor in town, feels a spark but realizes he's got her pegged and writes him off ---- which intrigues him of course because in this story men definitely want what they can't have. Man is emotionally unavailable because his parents didn't love him (and had a terrible marriage) so it's game of seduction vs the "I'll drop my panties only for a profitable marriage" lady....more
Still doesn’t pass the Bechdel test but there WERE a lot more women in this story at least. Includes Coyote, multiple supernatuone of the better ones
Still doesn’t pass the Bechdel test but there WERE a lot more women in this story at least. Includes Coyote, multiple supernatural beings, and some new ones (elementals) as well as the threat of Ragnarock - in Montana of all places.
I realized I remembered NOTHING of the previous book and so references to it, and big bad Bonarata were increasingly annoying. But the plot and ending of this one were good enough to bring me back to the series....more
Half of the book dealt with the Mc’s insecurities and events of the previous decade (including a lot of catch up on yhe previous three Bridgeryon bookHalf of the book dealt with the Mc’s insecurities and events of the previous decade (including a lot of catch up on yhe previous three Bridgeryon books). By this I mean there wasn’t a whiff of romance till at least the halfway mark which makes this quite dull for the genre. I read in anticipation of the Netflix series but I should have just waited for the Shondaland glow-up. ...more
4.5 stars - Happily surprised. I passed over this book so many times, largely in part to the boring cover. The cover is appropriate for a studious mys4.5 stars - Happily surprised. I passed over this book so many times, largely in part to the boring cover. The cover is appropriate for a studious mystery but not at all for the weird dystopian world one finds themself in inside this tale. I only picked it up finally due to a buddy read.
This was a fun mystery that I thought was going to only appear as a mystery only solvable by superhuman leaps of logic (or internal world-knowledge) but that only occurred in the beginning as a way to orient the reader into the world - and it is a vast and interesting world. I've been describing it as steam-punk if instead of steam we have fungi and the 'steam' is both the source of an existential threat to the world and its inhabitants (via contagion and it's monstrous origin) as well as the source (or inspiration) of the world's technology and human augmentation/mutation. As the story passes the opening scenes, one realizes that the mystery can be solved (or at least hunches made) at the same pace the MC absorbs information, even if it isn't as fast as the Sherlock to his Watson. The world is well developed without overshadowing the (many) characters. The best part of the story is the dynamic between the intuitive shut-in Ana and the MC, her new, potential temporary, assistant Din. Ana is vulgar, outspoken, brilliant, erratic and terrifying while uptight, quiet Din serves as her 'engraver' or permanent record of events/clues via his ability to memorize occurrences exactly as he experiences them. Their verbal volleys are full of humor and information about their world and the class system around them, though they often jar with more modern sentiments that can take one out of the moment. All in all, I look forward to the 2nd book while happily appreciating that this entry stands-alone....more
3.5 stars rounding up for the packing schedule that starts 1 week in advance (and whose advice on checking the functionality of your luggage ahead of 3.5 stars rounding up for the packing schedule that starts 1 week in advance (and whose advice on checking the functionality of your luggage ahead of time I should have followed as our carryon handle stopped raising and lowering mid-travel at a not-at-all convenient time). I had to laugh because she starts by discussing different types of packers, starting with the 'overanxious packer' who over-packs, overthinks things and accounts for every possible scenario.... and honestly I don't remember the other packer types (although I'm sure we could easily come up with some) because I suspect the only type to buy, borrow or read this book is the overanxious packer. (Pretty sure the 'hope for the best' types aren't snagged by the display at the library for this one!). The book is tiny enough to be a blog - with many of the backpages simply sample packing lists and templates to use. However I think I will check it out again upon my return to follow the recommendation about editing my packing list and noting what I never used, missed having and used regularly on this latest trip....more
A light palate-cleanser of a book. One where self-help/breakthroughs come in the form of a book recommendations + felted memento from the pale, giant,A light palate-cleanser of a book. One where self-help/breakthroughs come in the form of a book recommendations + felted memento from the pale, giant, reference librarian of a community resource center. Is she magical? or does she just intuit what will connect you to your own insights? It doesn't matter - we get to see four inhabitants of this Toyko ward make breakthroughs at all ages and phases of life. A delightful slice-of-life book that made me want to check out all the recommended books and sites discovered by the characters!
Enjoyable and fantastical standalone from a fantasy author I always enjoy. Wonderful historical (Spanish Inquisition) and cultural details throughout Enjoyable and fantastical standalone from a fantasy author I always enjoy. Wonderful historical (Spanish Inquisition) and cultural details throughout and many twists.
Perfect ending that made up for the more predictable parts of the story (e.g. the romance).
After hundreds of years, if there were so many sinners left, what had the Inquisition accomplished? They might root out Jews and Muslims and Erasmists and alumbrados, but then what was left? The machine had been built to consume heresy and impiety, so would it simply keep finding heresy and impiety to feed on? Valentina's soul certainly hadn't been saved. The vicar's threats hadn't made her good, only scared - and not of purgatory. All this spectacle, all this misery, and she didn't fear hell more than being shut up in a house with her lawful husband.
3.5 stars rounding up because I think it sticks the landing which is tough to do in a single volume complete story. Lupe walks the post-apocalyptic la3.5 stars rounding up because I think it sticks the landing which is tough to do in a single volume complete story. Lupe walks the post-apocalyptic landscape alone - except for the monsters who ate everyone during the end of the world. A truly effed-up tale in a way that somehow works. ...more
picked up randomly from the library 3.5 stars This was a decent (and different) hero's story arc through a world where inhabitants know only of the "Wpicked up randomly from the library 3.5 stars This was a decent (and different) hero's story arc through a world where inhabitants know only of the "World Tree" and have various origin mythologies across the branches they inhabit. There are humans and 'antelopes' (primate-neanderthal mash-ups) and various beliefs about the existence of a trunk, breathable air at ground level and/or other WorldTrees. Our main character is (violently) forced into hunting for the source of the affliction of the WorldTree which has already turned various parts of the world into deadwood. The world building is fairly good if sometimes credulity-straining (digital-appearance word repeatedly manifesting across parts of the organic tree for example) and poorly handwaved and the characters have potential but are rarely truly fleshed out except for the must-have-a-romantic-subplot central male and female. Maybe something was missed in translation?...more
there are at least 3 "Secret Six: Vol 1" by Gail Simone. This is apparently actually Vol 3 after her Secret Six characters moved over to the New52. Anthere are at least 3 "Secret Six: Vol 1" by Gail Simone. This is apparently actually Vol 3 after her Secret Six characters moved over to the New52. And, as a Vol1, it falters. You need to be familiar with characters already though they don't know each other in the opening scenes.... which makes them buddying-up so quickly oddly suspect. And while the villain behind the curtain seems scary in the beginning, the reveal makes them silly and very un-scary. Basically this makes one wonder what is the purpose of the Secret Six existing in the same world as Suicide Squad?
that being said, trying to find this in Goodreads led me to believe the other Vol. 1's might be worth checking out and might also be what Gail was referring to for the upcoming Omnibus release which is what led me to check this out in the first place...more
others have said it already so I'll just iterate - not as good as the first, needed serious editing (typos and the same scene over and over), nail bitothers have said it already so I'll just iterate - not as good as the first, needed serious editing (typos and the same scene over and over), nail biting final 100 pages. The overarching plot plus the action writing and expanded world-building wins it the 4 instead of 3 stars. I think the areas it suffered are romance tropes (communication break-downs that are just STUPID mostly plus secrets that are kept beyond sense) that the author carried over from her past writing that just don't work for this audience (honestly I'm not sure they really work in the romance realm either). ...more
a creepy, feminist-leaning, coming-of-age retelling of Bluebeard by T. Kingfisher for whom I'm on a current kick (especially for her retellings)a creepy, feminist-leaning, coming-of-age retelling of Bluebeard by T. Kingfisher for whom I'm on a current kick (especially for her retellings)...more
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