886 and counting …

• Posted in Books I've Read

Finished Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur. This is the first book in her Guardian series. I’ve heard a lot of people buzzing about Arthur (and someone, I think Chasity, recommended her on the blog) so I decided to try her book.

Riley Jensen is a half-vampire, half-werewolf in Australia who works for the Directorate of Other Races as an assistant, instead of being a full-fledged guardian like her twin brother Rhoan. But when Rhoan goes missing, Riley sets out to find him. Coming to her aid is the sexy vampire Quinn. But there’s more to Rhoan’s disappearance than meets the eye, and soon Riley is trying to shut down an illegal cloning operation and deal with her squabbling werewolf lovers and her attraction to Quinn.

The world building is interesting and well-done in this book. You don’t see many books set in Australia, and I really liked the descriptions of the country (although I wish there had been more of them.) I also liked some of the secondary characters, particularly Riley’s vampire boss Jack, who sees her potential and wants her to become a guardian. (Riley protests through the whole book that she doesn’t want the job, but then proceeds to act exactly like a guardian. That got annoying after a while).

But I had some major problems with this book. Mainly, the whole werewolf culture. The wolves suffer from moon heat once a month, and their bodies compel them to mate. Most of the wolves have multiple lovers to help them deal with this, and Riley is no exception. She has two lovers at the beginning of the book, and she also sleeps with Quinn several times as well. Not my cup of tea, but I could accept that.

But what got me was the end of the book. At one point, Riley is basically being raped by one of her former lovers. Her mind knows this, but her body is still enjoying it because of the moon heat. She’s being raped, and she’s actually leaning into the guy’s touch, needing more. Ugh. Not for me.

Also, several times during the book, Riley mentions that she hopes she finds her soulmate soon. It made me wonder whether or not she would continue with the multiple lovers after she does find her soulmate. Does anyone know if that’s explained in later books? Just curious. Because it seems to me the purpose of a soulmate is to be exclusive. But maybe I’m wrong.

Overall, I thought Riley was a pretty cool character. She’s strong, confident, and not afraid to do what needs to be done. But I also thought she missed some obvious clues and made some dumb choices. For example, one of her lovers gives her some champagne, and then Riley promptly passes out. But later, it doesn’t seem to occur to her that she’s been drugged — and then she goes back to meet and have sex with the guy again.

Also, the reader never discovers who the big bad guy is who’s pulling the strings on the cloning operation. We’re just told it’s someone Riley knows. That also annoyed me a little bit. I would have liked more info on who it was.

One of the folks in my book group has read several of the Guardian books, and we talked about Full Moon Rising. While my friend enjoys the series, she summed it up by saying, “I like it, but it doesn’t seem like Riley gets a lot done because she always has to stop and have sex.” I think that’s a fair summary.

There are things I liked about this book. The Austrialian setting, the world building, Riley’s strength and confidence. But I have to give it a thumbs down because of the rape scene. I just don’t like books where women are victimized like that. 

Up next: Running Blind by Lee Child.

Books in to TBR pile: About 14.

What about you guys? Anyone read anything good over the holiday weekend?

6 Responses to “886 and counting …”

  1. Chasity says:

    To be perfectly honest, I believe I started this series with the second book Kissing Sin. I don’t recall anything you mentioned here. I’ll have to dig out my “notebook” and see if I’m just blocking or if I really didn’t read this one.

    I don’t remember reading anything about a rape scene in the Riley series, nor do I remember her being drugged. So I really must not have read this one. Seems like Kissing Sin is the one I read first. Who knows.

    OOOOH. I do know what scene you’re talking about now that I think about it. It’s referred to in another one of the books. Gave just enough details to know something happened, but not the full description. So now I know I haven’t read this one yet.

    As of the last book, Riley has yet to find her “soulmate”. She’s come to terms with the fact that since she’s 1/2 vamp and 1/2 wolf, she may just possibly have 2 soul mates out there.

    And during the rest of the books, she does in fact add at least 1 more lover to her list.

    But anyway, another miss for me. Dang. hahaha

    I read a couple books this past weekend.

    Dixie Cash – My Heart May Be Broken, But My Hair Still Looks Great. This was my first Dixie Cash book. It’s southern, Texas style. I laughed my ass off while reading it. The main character of this book is Paige. She’s a socialite who’s been cut off from her Daddy’s fortune, a few months before she turns 25. What Paige doesn’t know is that when she turns 25, she will inherit her own fortune. To prepare her, her dad takes away her credit cards, pays up her rent for 3 months, and demands she find a job. Eventually Paige ends up on the right path, working in a small town called Salt Lick. What made this book for me wasn’t the romance, it was the town folks – Debbie Sue and Edwina. Those 2 are a hoot.

    And then I read Meg Cabot – Queen of Babble. Cutesy book, in which the main character Lizzie, well babbles. A lot. If you can get past her babbling constantly, it’s a decent read. I giggled a lot throughout the book.

    And Thursday’s book was Jennifer Weiner – Certain Girls. It was an ok read. It’s a follow up to one of her previous books, Good In Bed, I think it’s called. This one just didn’t sit well with me. The last few chapters were a big, big turn off to me. I won’t give away any details, just in case someone reading is planning to pick it up.

    And in between all of these, I discovered Sharon Sala. Nine Lives. This was one that I picked up out of boredom and to try a new author. The used bookstore owner nearby recommended Sala to me a few months ago. I finally got around to reading one this past weekend. I sat at the library while the kid was playing and started reading this one. I’d finished about 6 chapters while sitting there. Within a couple hours after coming back home, this one was finished.

    Geez, did I really read that many books this past weekend? Yeah, I guess I did.

    I’m currently reading Meg Cabot – Queen of Babble In the Big City, or something to that effect. I started it last night during a bout of insomnia. So we’ll see how that one goes.

  2. Jennifer Estep says:

    This is the first book in the series. I checked before I got it. I’m weird in that I always start with the first book. I hate jumping into a series mid-stream. It’a an anal thing with me. It could be the best series in the world but until I get that first book, I’m not reading it. :rolleyes:

    I was going to give the book a thumbs up (with some reservations) before I got to the rape scene. After that, I just couldn’t. It’s not that a rape scene is an automatic thumbs down from me. I’ve enjoyed a lot of thrillers were women (and even men) are treated less than well. It was just done in a way that I don’t like. It was almost as if Arthur was making excuses for Riley being victimized, that it was somewhat OK for her ex-lover to make advances on her because her body needed the contact so bad. (Although he doesn’t fully penetrate her; it’s more touching than anything else).

    So yeah, a miss. But please keep the recommendations coming. I’m always on the lookout for new folks to try, and I’ve really enjoyed some of the folks you’ve recommended, like Jeaniene Frost.

    I’ve heard good things about the Cash series. That’s on my to-buy-at-some-point list. Or pick up on the cheap at Mr. K’s. 😎

    Two soulmates, huh? Okay. Well, that’s certainly a different spin on that.

    I loved Cabot’s Princess Diaries, but I haven’t read any of her other stuff. I think she has another YA series out that sounds cool. And the title, coincidentally, is Jinx. (I think).

    I also loved Good in Bed by Weiner. A great read. Sigh. But I’ve heard some mixed reviews about Certain Girls. I’m not sure I want to read it. Some books are so good you just want to remember the characters they way they are — and not be disappointed by the sequel.

    BTW, not sure if you’re coming to the women’s expo thing in Kingsport again this year, but one of the organizers told me Julia Quinn might come. I really enjoyed her Bridgerton series. I hope she makes it! And next year, the rumor is they’ve got Jim Butcher lined up … 😉

  3. Chasity says:

    Oh, I’ll keep the recommendations coming. Just can’t seem to help myself there.

    I’ve taken to checking stuff out at the library again. I just hop on their website, put a hold on the books I won’t, they gather them, and then I swing by to pick them up. Works wonders for when I’m up at 2am, looking at book reviews and thinking I want to read something. Plus I can never find anything in my local library. It’s laid out weird or something. That’s where I’ve picked up all the books I listed here.

    Good In Bed is an awesome read. In fact I’ve loved everything I’ve read from Weiner. Except Certain Girls. I’m still messed up from that ending. The Meg Cabot’s though have helped get me out of my funk. You should look into those, they are cutesy reads.

    I’m planning to come to the Women’s Expo, just gotta find out the dates, and put them on the calendar. Julia Quinn is awesome. I have a bunch of her stuff from a few years ago.

    Jim Butcher is one of the authors I’ve recently discovered and started placing his books on hold at the library. I’m expecting a few of those in this week.

    This year, I know what to expect at the Women’s Expo. I never realized there were so many different things there to see and do. Of course last year, I left Gary locked in the car, listening to football on the raido. This year he’ll be staying at home and I’m bringing a girlfriend with me. That way I can browse and shop until my hearts content 🙂

  4. Jennifer Estep says:

    Good. :buttercup:

    You’re looking at books at 2 a.m.? You are one dedicated reader.

    I love the library. I think it’s one of the best things ever invented.

    Good in Bed is the only thing I’ve read by Weiner. I keep meaning to pick up hre other titles. Maybe after I whittle down the TBR pile some more …

    Jim Butcher is really cool. I’m up to the 4th or 5th book in his Harry Dresden series. Really enjoy those. What’s not to love about a wise-cracking wizard?

    Yeah, the expo is more of a girlfriend-type event. There will also be a meet-the-author dinner on Friday night before the event on Saturday. The expo is always the third weekend in October. I think it will be a lot of fun. Shirley Daamsguard (I know I spelled that wrong) is also coming. She writes a witch series from Avon. I sat next to her last year. Very smart, funny lady.

  5. Chasity says:

    Insomnia, what can I say? I read when I’m up at night. :green:

    I spoke with Shirley at last years expo. I picked up her first book, and really liked it. Angela Knight is the other author there, that I spoke with for a good long while (besides you of course). I picked up an anthology of hers and became addicted to her stuff. Have you tried any of her stuff? I used to read anything and everything I could find on King Author and the Knights. I have boxes of books around here somewhere from my high school and college term papers. Arthur was my topic of choce. Angela Knight took the concept of Author and spun in into a nifty world.

    I’d forgotten about the author dinner. Can anyone come to it?

  6. Jennifer Estep says:

    I’ve seen Angela at several events, but I’ve never really talked to her. The expo was a madhouse last year. I got to speak to the folks sitting beside me (Barry Eisley and Shirley), but that was about it. I’ve heard good things about Angela’s books, but I haven’t tried them. She’s on my to-buy-someday list — along with about a hundred other folks.

    Yep, the dinner is a fundraiser for the literacy council (or something like that), so it’s open to the public. I think tickets were like $30 last year. When I get more info, I’ll post on the blog.

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