Books I’ve Read

Finished Wicked Deeds on A Winter’s Night by Kresley Cole. This is the third book in her popular Immortals After Dark paranormal romance series.

In this one, Bowen MacRieve, a Lykae (think werewolf), has been mourning the loss of his mate for more than a hundred years. So he’s surprised when he’s attracted to Mariketa the Awaited, a powerful witch. And Bowen is even more shocked when his Lykae Instinct starts to tell him that Mari is his mate (you only get one in a lifetime). Too bad Mari hates Bowen since he trapped her in a tomb with some nasty creatures who made her drink blood, among other things. But Bowen is determined to win Mari over, especially since some sort of mysterious danger is threatening his witch …

I enjoyed the other Immortals books that I’ve read, and this one was no exception. I really like the fairy-tale feel Cole has given her world of witches, Valkyries, vampires, and more. She puts a different spin on the usual creatures you find in paranormal romance.

I also really liked Mari’s character in this one. It was refreshing to see one of the immortals struggle with the great power they’ve been given. The fact that everyone is waiting for Mari to do something important also adds to Mari’s confusion and pressure about her destiny. And Mari’s issues with the people she loves always leaving her behind made for a nice conflict between her and Bowen (who’s determined to have her no matter what).

As for Bowen, I found him at turns charming and aggravating. I realize that he’s an alpha male who’s hundreds of years old. But Bowen’s plans to make Mari just give up her magic because he didn’t like it really annoyed me. I was happy when he realized that Mari’s magic is just as important to her as his Lykae heritage/instinct is to him.

The only quibble I have with the book is the mate/soulmate plot hook. Cole handles it well and makes it fairly unique, but overall, I’m just not a fan of it. I always think it’s more interesting when a couple chooses to be together — and aren’t necessarily bound together by some magical/mystical/hormonal/pheremonal bond. But that’s just me.

Overall, if you’re looking for some paranormal romance with some serious sizzle, try this one. Thumbs up.

Up next: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

Books in my TBR pile: About 20.

Finished Night and Day by Robert B. Parker. This is the eighth book in his series about Jesse Stone, the police chief of Paradise, Mass.

In this one, Jesse has to deal with two problems — a peeping Tom who calls himself the Night Hawk and a school principal who made several girls show her their underwear before a school dance. The Night Hawk soon escalates to home invasions, while the principal insists she did nothing wrong. Jesse also has to deal with his ex-wife, who’s gone off with another man (for about the tenth time or so).

Jesse figures out who the Night Hawk is pretty quickly, although it takes him a bit longer to figure out what to do with the principal. There’s not a lot of mystery in Parker’s books, but he writes great dialogue. I just love his style — it’s easy to read and entertaining at the same time.

But the highlight of the book for me was the end, where Jesse finally (finally!) tells his ex-wife that he can’t be her safety net anymore and that he wants her out of his life. Huzzah! I’ve never gotten the obsession Jesse has with his ex, and I thought Jesse should have kicked her to the curb a long time ago. Let’s hope it sticks this time — and that he hooks back up with Sunny Randall, a private investigator who’s the star of one of Parker’s other series.

Overall, if you’re looking for a quick, entertaining read, pick up one of Parker’s books. Thumbs up.

Up next: Something from the TBR pile.

Books in my TBR pile: About 20.

Finished The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks. This is the first book in his epic fantasy, Night Angel trilogy about an orphan-turned-assassin named Azoth/Kylar.

Azoth knows that life on the streets is hard and dangerous. So to protect his friends, Doll Girl and Jarl, and himself, Azoth decides to become an apprentice to the best wetboy (aka assassin) in the city — Durzo Blint. The years pass, and Azoth slowly takes on the persona of Kylar Stern, a respected, but relatively poor noble. But war is brewing, and Kylar will have to decide who he wants to save — his friends or Durzo. Because someone’s going to die …

First of all, let me say that this book has one of the best covers I’ve seen in a long time. Seriously, go look at it on Amazon. It’s beautiful. Whoever does the Orbit book covers really knows that they’re doing. I like a lot of their covers.

Back to the book. I picked this one up because I write a series about an assassin, and I’m always curious how other people write assassin characters.

I liked a lot of things about this book. Weeks doesn’t shy away from showing the horrors of being an orphan living on the streets (rapes, beatings, constant hunger), and he doesn’t make the wetboy business a glamorous one either. This is probably one of the grittiest fantasies I’ve read in a while, but it fit the story well.

I also enjoyed the characters — Azoth/Kylar, Durzo, Momma K, Jarl. Each one has a unique point of view and acts just the way that you’d expect them to, given their various situations. Momma K was especially a favorite of mine.

But there were just as many things that I didn’t like about the book — especially when it came to the execution of the world building. This is an epic fantasy, but there isn’t as much magic in this book as you might expect. Wetboys have “Talents” that let them hide in shadows, climb walls, etc. But why someone has Talent, how it forms, etc. wasn’t really explained very well. Neither were the magical artifacts (they have a name, but it escapes me at the moment) that several people were after in the book. And I never did quite grasp what the Night Angels are — Ideals? Gods? Something else entirely?

Also, I didn’t get a real sense of the various countries/peoples. There are four or five characters (including a seer) who just popped in and out of the book at random with no real explanation about their motivation or why they would even care what’s happening in another country.

I think a glossary of terms would have really helped when it came to explaining the magic, the peoples, and the countries. 

Weeks has some really nice twists near the end, especially in regards to who and what Durzo really is, but I didn’t think he brought out the backstory/reasons for them enough earlier in the book. The references were a little obscure for me, just like the magic was.

Despite the problems I had, I’m still going to give this one a thumbs up. The characters were interesting, and Weeks leaves you with a cliffhanger that makes you want to keep reading. Overall, if you’re in the mood for an epic fantasy, you might try this one.

Up next: Night and Day by Robert B. Parker.

Books in my TBR pile: About 20.

Finished The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines. This book kicks off a new fantasy series for Hines, about three fairy tale princesses and the adventures they have.

This book focuses on Danielle de Glas Whiteshore (aka Cinderella). Danielle is trying to adjust to life in the royal castle now that she’s married her prince. But when Danielle’s stepsister Charlotte tries to kill her, the princess learns that her husband has been kidnapped — and that her servant Talia (aka Sleeping Beauty) is quite handy with weapons. Danielle and Talia team up with Snow (aka Snow White) and go to the dangerous realm of Fairytown in order to rescue Danielle’s husband. But whether the princesses ever make it back home again is anyone’s guess …

I enjoyed Hines’ Goblin series, and I was looking forward to reading more of his work. And there are few things I love more than a good twist on classic fairy tales. This book featured everything I’ve come to expect from a Jim Hines book — a classic fantasy world, an ordinary character turned reluctant hero, and lots of funny moments.

I liked how Hines took the traditional fairy tales and used them to give each princess her own personality, problems, and quirks. Of the three, I thought Talia had the most interesting backstory. Because instead of being awakened by a handsome prince’s kiss, Talia’s prince charming took horrible advantage of her sleeping body — which has left her with more than a few emotional scars. I’m interested to see what Hines does with her in future books.

Danielle and Snow also get their moments to shine, and I liked how Hines wove in other fairy tale elements with their characters. For example, instead of a glass slipper, Danielle has a glass sword, while Snow wears a necklace made of magic mirrors. Subtle little touches like that are some of the things I love best about fairy tale stories. I also loved the whole Charlie’s Angels, secret-protectors-of-the-kingdom setup.

Overall, if you’re looking for a fairy tale story with lots of action and plenty of girl-power attitude, check this one out. I’ll definitely be reading the next one. Thumbs up.

Up next: The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks.

Books in my TBR pile: About 20.

What about you guys? Reading anything good? Share in the comments.

Finished Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I’ve heard a lot of buzz about this book, and since I’m trying to write a young-adult fantasy, I thought I would check it out. Warning: There be spoilers ahead.

Graceling is set in the world of the Seven Kingdoms, where people have extreme skills or “graces” in various areas like cooking, dancing, etc. Lady Katsa has an unusual skill, even among Gracelings — she can kill people with her bare hands. Katsa basically serves as her uncle, King Randa’s, enforcer — hurting and killing those who renege on their deals with the bullying king. Katsa hates her work, so she forms a secret council that’s dedicating to doing good deeds.

One of those deeds involves Katsa rescuing an old grandfather, which brings her face-to-face with his grandson, Prince Po. Po is also graced in fighting, and soon, he and Katsa are friends and sparring companions, even as they try to figure out who kidnapped his grandfather and why. Along the way, the two fall in love, and Katsa learns more about her grace — and Po’s — than she ever imagined was even possible …

I thought the writing in Graceling was very lush and beautiful throughout — it very much made me feel as though I was in a fairy tale, fantasy world. And I loved Katsa’s character. She’s just what I want in a heroine — tough, strong, loyal to her friends, but still real and vulnerable.

I thought the love story between Katsa and Po was well done, and I was especially glad that Katsa didn’t suddenly want to be married with a bunch of kids at the end of the book (since she doesn’t want either one for the first 400 pages).

But I did have a few quibbles. My biggest one is the middle section of the book, where Katsa and Po set out on their quest to find out who kidnapped Po’s grandfather. The two of them spend several chapters traveling, camping in the forest, and figuring out their feelings for each other. It kind of reminded me of chapters in the last Harry Potter book where Harry & Co. also camped in the woods for several chapters. I would have liked for more to have happened in that section or for the pace to have been a little quicker.

Also, Katsa’s character changed a little too abruptly for me. She starts out angry and out of control and slowly begins to accept the fact that her killing Grace doesn’t make her a monster. But then, it’s like bam! Katsa suddenly sees herself in a new light and mellows out. I liked the change – I just thought it came about a little too quickly after Katsa has a realization about her Grace and what it really is.

And I hated what happened to Po at the end. He’d been through so much already. His going blind really broke my heart, even though his mind-reading Grace helped him compensate for the loss of his vision.

But I thought the book really shined after Katsa and Po rescue a young princess, Bitterblue, and race to save her from an evil king. There, Katsa took over, using her Grace to do incredible things, including go over a snow-covered mountain peak to flee to safety using only her wits and the few supplies she had. Katsa was so tough and strong and smart and fierce. I loved that part of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I’ll definitely be reading the other two books set in this world when they come out, and I hope Cashore writes a sequel to Graceling. I’d love to spend some more time with Katsa, Po, and Bitterblue. Thumbs up. 

Up next: Something from the TBR pile.

Books in my TBR pile: About 20.