Finished Texas Rain by Jodi Thomas. This is the first book in her Whispering Mountain trilogy about three brothers who run a Texas ranch.

This one is about Texas Ranger Travis McMurray, who finds himself attracted to Rainey Adams — despite the fact she steals his horse. Rainey is fleeing an arranged marriage that her cruel father set up and is afraid of taking a chance on love with Travis. But she might not even get the chance to love Travis, since some outlaws are gunning for the Texas Ranger …

This is a historical romance set in the American west. It seems like most of the historicals are set in Regency England these days, and it was nice to read something different. Besides, I love a good western. 😎

In some ways, this is a very sweet romance (despite a couple of steamy scenes). Travis and Rainey get to know each other through letters that they send back and forth. I thought it was a cool plot device as it moves the stories of both characters forward even though they aren’t even in the same town at that point.

Thomas also gives her characters a real love of the land, and the McMurray brothers have an unusual backstory — their father died and they had to defend their ranch from outsiders until the oldest brother turned 18 and they could claim the land for themselves. Really, I thought that could have made a whole book in and of itself.

There are some secondary characters who add humor to the mix, and there’s a couple of nice action scenes at the end.

Overall, this one is comfort food for western romance fans. I’ll probably be reading the other two books. Thumbs up.

Up next: A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison.

Books in my TBR pile: About 12.

Finished InterWorld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves.

This is a young adult book that focuses on Joey Harker. Joey’s always had a bad sense of direction — he’s the kind of kid who can get lost in his own house. But one day, Joey steps into a mist and into another world — literally. Joey discovers that he’s a Walker, or someone who can move through various dimensions/planes/worlds. Not only that, there are other Walkers, who are all different versions of Joey from alternate worlds. Male, female, winged, big, small, mechanical. You name it, there’s a version of Joey. Or Jo or Jay or … you get the idea.

The Walkers are engaged in an epic battle with two rival companies who are intent on conquering worlds. The Walkers’ goal is to keep the balance between the big bad company that uses magic and the one that relies on science. And since Joey is a powerful Walker, everyone wants to get their hands on him …

I’ll be honest with you guys — this book made my head hurt. It’s basically a science fiction time/space travel book about a group of kid commandoes. Think A Wrinkle in Time crossed with The Matrix (when Walkers get captured they get boiled down to power the bad guys’ machinery). I’m not a big fan of sci-fi to start with, and the book features a lot of terms/ideas that just weren’t explained that well, like the In-Between and multi-dimensional life forms.

The story itself is your standard fantasy genre arc — young, unremarkable boy discovers he has a great power/destiny and goes off to fight the good fight. Joey was an okay character, but I liked his soap bubble pet Hue better than I did him.

Overall, there was just nothing in here that I haven’t seen before, and the lack of explanation bothered me. On the bright side, the book makes me want to go back and re-read A Wrinkle in Time. Still, I have to give this one a thumbs down.

Up next: Texas Rain by Jodi Thomas.

Books in my TBR pile: About 13.

Finished Goblin War by Jim C. Hines. This is the third book in his series about Jig Dragonslayer, a goblin who finds himself having adventures against his will.

In this one, Jig and some of his fellow goblins are captured by Princess Genevieve, who needs their help fortifying a town against Billa the Bloody (an orc) and her army of monster followers. But Billa’s army is just a cover for Isa, a winter goddess who wants to kill everyone to lure death god Noc onto the battlefield so she can then kill him. Of course, it’s up to Jig to stop Isa at the urging of his god, Tymolaus Shadowstar. Too bad Jig might get killed in the process …

As always, Hines writes a clever fantasy send-up. Folks who play fantasy or D&D games will especially recognize the gentle genre skewers. I loved the army of monsters with all their quibbles and problems, especially the guy who kept spouting off about regulations.

Jig is a great, albeit reluctant, hero who uses his brain to get him out of lots of tricky situations. And Jig’s interactions with his god are always amusing to read. This book fills in a lot of gaps as to exactly how Jig came to workshop Shadowstar (it wasn’t accidental at all) and more of the god’s background.

The only quibble I had with the book was the plot involving the gods. I thought it was a little convoluted, and I never understood why Isa wanted to kill the death god. Just for revenge for trying to kill her? I guess I wanted more motivation than that. Also, I wanted to know if Shadowstar was still around at the end of the book (he takes a blow meant for Jig in the end).

Still, if you like more light-hearted fantasy, you should check out this series. I hope there are more Jig adventures ahead. Thumbs up.

Up next: InterWorld by Neil Gaiman.

Books in my TBR pile: About 14. (I’m finally whittling it down!)

Finished Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson. This is the first book in her Tairen Soul epic fantasy romance series. I’ve heard a lot of buzz about the series and thought I’d try it. Warning: There be spoilers ahead.

The book is about Rain Tairen Soul, the king of the Fey who can shapeshift into a tairen (think a black panther with wings and purple eyes). Rain’s people are dying, and he’s searching for a cure to save them — which leads him to Ellysetta Baristani, a woodcarver’s daughter who has powerful magic she doesn’t even know about. Rain claims Ellysetta as his mate, which immediately puts both of them in danger from evil Eld mages bent on war and destruction …

The book is an interesting mix of epic fantasy (humble, orpahaned woman discovers her great power/destiny) and romance (the Fey have soulmates and serious desires to claim/protect their mates that you see in a lot of paranormal romances). The world-building was solid, and you’ve got several nice characters without getting into the tough-to-keep-track-of cast of thousands that often populate epic fantasy books. (Seriously, you need a scorecard to keep track of characters in books like Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series).

I liked Ellie’s character a lot and look forward to seeing her grow and become more powerful in future books. I wasn’t as keen on Rain, mainly because he spends a lot of the book being an overly possessive alpha male (which, as I’ve said before, isn’t one of my favorite character types). I also really enjoyed the members of Ellie’s guard and her twin sisters and hope they get more chances to shine in the future.

However, I had one problem with the book, and that was the ending — or lack thereof. The book ends with Rain and Ellie strengthening their bond after a disastrous dinner at the royal palace. But there’s no resolution to the other plot threads, and the story cuts off in mid-stream, while several important things are cooking. (I mentioned I was reading this to a fellow romance writer, and she warned me about the ending. Now, I see what she meant).

I realize this is a series, and there will be some cliffhangers, but there wasn’t even a note at the end that said “To be continued.” The second book in the series came out almost immediately after this one, but still, I would have liked a note or some indication that this was the end, and I didn’t have any missing pages. I’m wondering if the book was originally longer and got split in two pieces. Does anyone know?

Overall, if you like an epic love story with your fantasy, you’ll probably enjoy this one. Still, I have to go split decision on this one. Thumbs up to the overall story and world building, thumbs down to the abrupt ending. But I’ll be getting the next book to read because I want to see Rain and Ellie kick some Eld mage ass. 😎

Up next: Goblin War by Jim Hines.

Books in my TBR pile: About 15.

What about you guys? What are you reading right now?

Finished The Vampire Who Loved Me by Teresa Medeiros.

This one’s about Portia Cabot, who let vampire Julian Kane drink from her when they were trapped in a crypt together in the previous book in this series, After Midnight (where Portia’s sister and Julian’s brother hooked up as the main couple). Several years have passed, and Julian has finally returned to London. Portia’s never gotten over him and vows to do whatever it takes to save Julian’s soul — and prove him innocent of a string of horrible murders …

This book is an interesting blend of historical and paranormal romance. It’s set in Regency England, where vampires stalk the poor and unsuspecting in the back alleys of London. But neither aspect outweighs the other, and fans of both genres should find plenty to like in this one.

Medeiros’ writing is very vivid and beautifully descriptive in places. There’s also some great dialogue between Portia and Julian. The plot is a little slow to get going, but once it does, everything moves along at a nice pace.

Overall, if you’re looking for something a little different in a historical, you might like this one. Thumbs up.

Up next: Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson.

Books in my TBR pile: About 16.