Review: Turn Coat

Turn Coat Unabridged CD by Jim Butcher

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
The only thing wrong with this book is that there was no Michael Carpenter. :) Everything else was spectacular. It started out fast, and as I listened to it, there didn't seem to be any points where it dragged. Normally, I only listen to audiobooks in the car but this one went from the car, in to work, back to the car, into my apartment and back to the car. I could not wait for the next car ride to find out what happened. The down side of that, of course, is that it is over quicker.



For long time readers of this series, you may not like the audio editions of these books. Sometimes, fans have an idea in their head of the voice and can be disappointed when what they hear doesn't match that. For me, the audio versions of these books are magic. I wanted to like the books, but I never could get into Storm Front. Once I listened to it, though, I finally saw what all the fuss was about.



Hard to summarize this book without giving away major plot points, so I won't do that. There are plenty of summaries online. Hell, I think Dresden has his own wiki! There are a few beatings, some crying, some dying, some transitioning, some regretting, and a very unsettling ending. I already can't wait for the next one.


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Review: Lord Demon's Delight

Lord Demon's Delight by Gia Dawn

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I expected to hate this book. I can't remember where I even heard of it. Was it on Twitter? A blog? Samhain's webpage? Can't recall. But, I expected to hate it. The cover did not help. I thought it would at least be good for some laughs, right? Turns out, it was pretty darn good!



It started out with a terrorist fistbump to William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The whole witches watching, plotting and scheming. Elitist though it may be, literary reference made me more curious and interested in the book. It got my attention. And, not only that, but the witches were funny. They had personality, AND got the story going.



The voyeuristic aspects of the story were also interesting. Some people may find it creepy, I didn't. I liked how Dawn made sure to always let the reader know the couple being spied on were fully aware they were being watched. She didn't hit you over the head with it, but it did make the whole thing less stalkerific.



Hero and Heroine were both well developed, and the secondary characters were rounded as well. The plumbing of the book (grammar, sentence structure, spelling) was also very good. It seems almost shameful that it needs to be mentioned, but there are some really badly edited books out there!



Which leaves the plot. There were some holes. Tne end of the book was rushed. Not so much the romance between H/H, but the backstory. Jessaline's father was a son of a bitch, we got that. Why did it take him so long to get to her for confrontation? He knew where she was. If he was waiting so long to set up things with the King, he didn't do such a hot job. And if he's so good at machinations, why did it all end so badly? It seemed a bit glossed over towards the end. I understand that wasn't the "real" story, but I wanted to know details! Dawn had done a good bit of world building and that's why I wanted to know more.



All in all, it was a good book. I don't think romance fans will be disappointed.


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FYI

While I can't stop reading completely (not even for my own good!) book reviews and other various activities will be light around here while I study for the bar exam. It might be linky for awhile, or maybe crazy (or crazy good) book covers. Regular scheduled reading (and posting) will continue after July 29th.

Review: Skin Trade

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Well, I'm not sure this was enough to get me back into the Anita Blake fold, but I did like the book. Very much. It made me realize some things about the series, though.



I hate Anita Blake. I think I've always known this, and I believe this is where my problem with heroin(e) started. All the guys want to screw her, and all the girls want to be her. And poor Anita Blake, she just can't figure out what to do with this wacky, crazy life of hers. But, as much as she doesn't want to be a "victim" she's just a crazy slave to her unfortunate, but of her own making, circumstances. Whine. Whine. Whine. It has been this way since Circus of the Damned, and it hasn't really changed except for the circumstances have gotten more complicated.



Yet, what I have really liked about the books were the other characters. Okay, Jean-Claude and Edward, mostly. Asher some. The rest of them I could give a toss about, really. And, what has really irritated me about the path the books were on was that she diminished Jean-Claude's power to raise Anita's. Either he is or he is not the shit. Right? I know characters change throughout the series, but she has watered JC down so much that I'm almost wondering what purpose he serves. I know Richard fans have similar complaints.



Back to this book: It had plot. I know! A plot that centered around something other than who Anita was going to screw. Don't get me wrong, there was screwing. And, you know, I thought I was pretty well innoculated from the name issue thanks to JR Ward, but something about her screaming "Wicked" during sex still made me laugh out loud. But we got tbrough 300 pages before there was screwing, so take that for what it's worth. Sadly, though, I didn't find the sex hot. There were parts that were luke warm, but never reached hot. That's what happens when you make sex something other than what it is supposed to be (ie. food). It becomes common. Mundane. "Oh, huh. She's getting off with someone she either doesn't like, doesn't trust, or doesn't want to add to her stable." To me, that's kind of the equivalent of eating vegetables. You do it because you have to, not because you're really digging parsnips.



The only character here who had actual growth was Edward. There were some plot issues here as well, and it seemed like Hamilton lost the thread towards the end. The end of the book was the weakest part by far. Bernardo, Olaf, and Edward just drop off the face of the Earth. What happened to them? No goodbyes? Suddenly, she's back in St. Louis, new playthings in tow, and life is back to some shade of normal. Okay. Um....right. But, there were some good parts, which is more than I can say for the previous 6 books. It did read very much like Obsidian Butterfly so if you didn't like that one, you're probably not going to be much for this one either.


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Review: 52 pt. 1

52 - Part 1 by Greg Cox

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Well, the first part of this was not as engaging as Infinite Crisis, but it has an appeal all its own. It is much easier to keep up with all the characters, and there seems to be more drama than Infinite Crisis had, but not as much action. Normally that is good, but you really have to pay attention to this one or you might miss something other than just another fight sequence.



It isn't just no Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, though. Where is Green Lantern? Martian Manhunter? Aquaman? MIA. Nightwing? Teen Titans? Nope. I love The Question, don't get me wrong. Black Adam is a little much, but okay. Green Arrow? Nada. If you're not giving me Batman, throw me something, right?



The time travel angle is a good one, but there wasn't enough of it in part 1. It was good enough that I want to get to the next part and find out what happens, but not so great that I want to keep driving until I reach the end.


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Review: Lover Avenged

Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was better than Lover Enshrined, even though I gave it a 4 star review as well. But, it just didn't reach the five stars for me.



What I love about Ward's writing is also what I hate about Ward's writing. When I read her prose, it isn't just filler. The narrative voice in this book is almost another character. An omnipotent one, to be sure, but still a separate character. I don't like how this character adds "ilies" to everything. Is it really that hard to say Stilettos, Mr. or Ms. Omnipotent? And I REALLY wish the word "shitkicker" was permanently deleted from your vocabulary. But, you do have a way with words and I appreciate how you could turn something very dry and boring into a fast, page turning adventure.



This whole series reminds me of how easy it was for me to make the leap from Fantasy to Romance lit. The world building is good and I love huge casts of characters. The more pages the merrier, and I love series. I can also see how this would be disturbing to those who started this series expecting one thing, and find themselves in this new place. It is dishonest to market this as a romance series with a hero/heroine focused plot. That is not where the plot is focused. The world does not revolve around the hero/heroine finding their happily ever after. They do find it, don't get me wrong, but I don't think anyone can say that is where the focus is. It seems to be something that happens along the way in the larger story. To me, that is absolutely fantastic. To people who are expecting the beginning, middle and end to be about Rehv and Elena, your set may need to be slightly adjusted.



I'm not sure what the endgame is here with the whole Lessers/Vampire war, and I'm not sure I care. I assume Ward wants me to care, so this may not be a good thing. I enjoy the characters, and I tune in to see what is going to happen next with them. I am more than a little caught up in how the war is affecting Wrath. But, other than that, it's background noise to me. It's a little like North and South. You know there is a war going on in the background, but the battle scenes are not the reason why you're watching. It's what goes on because of the war, during the war, before and after the war, that holds your interest.



Very hard to do this without spoilers, by the way.



Ward also has a style of writing, and dropping hints of future plot lines, that means if you have an interest in this series and where it might be going, you have to pay pretty close attention. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here, and I'm hoping that what looks like a recycled plot isn't going to be a recycled plot. I'm crazy about Xhex, John-Matthew, Blay and Qhuinn so the next book will be wonderful for me. I'm hoping that Bella gets a rest because she had a hell of a book this time around. She deserves some R & R. She had like, five scenes and all of them were drama? Come on.



I hate Lassiter. Just had to get that out.



And a word about the "gangsta": I wonder why people get so bent out of shape that some of Ward's characters don't act or talk like run of the mill white bread. Each of these characters has a distinct voice and, contrary to popular internet opinion, they don't all embrace the street talk. But the ones that do, seems completely consistent with the other characteristics they have. Is it so unusual? To me, the bigger question is why so many people have a problem with it?



And I hate Lassiter.


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Review: Hard as Nails

Hard As Nails by M.A. Ellis

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the first book from Ellora's Cave that I can say, unequivocally, that I loved. That isn't to say I've read everything they published and hated it all, obviously that isn't the case. But everything I had read before was not good. Maybe I was picking the wrong ones. It had gotten so bad, that I didn't even want to pick up anything published by them. So why did I pick up this one? Your guess is as good as mine. But, I absolutely LOVED EVERY BIT of this book.



All four stories was fantastic. The sex was hot, as you'd expect, but there was much more to these stories than the hot sex. The characters had emotion and depth. My favorite story was "Twisted Steel and Sex Appeal" which made me laugh out loud and swoon in equal measure. Shelly and Luke were a fabulous couple, and I wish their story could have been a full length book instead of just a short story.



The weakest story, for me, was the first one. The Cake Babe. I thought there was a little too much serendipity in how the two of them got together. I didn't believe it. And, even though the sex was hot, I bought the idea of hot sex for the sake of hot sex much more than I bought longlasting love. That story needed more time to, bake (as it were) and I would have thought it better if they had started as a couple and worked their way up through the other three stories. Even though the other three brothers met their matches (ha!) in similarly short periods of time, Jason and Marissa just didn't work for me. But, even that wasn't enough to knock off a star. It was really that good. I look forward to reading more from Ellis.


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Review: Hittin' It

Hittin' It by Amie Stuart

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
If it weren't for the first person confusion in "Screwed" this would have been a five star review. That bit threw me off and, even though I eventually got used to it, I think there may have been a more effective way of pulling it off. Maybe putting names at the beginning of the chapter when the voice changed? I mean, I could see that the voice changed, of course, but...I don't know. I'm not opposed to first person on general principle, it just seem to stall the story each time the voice flipped and the reader had to re-adjust how they were seeing the world. That's all. Purely personal preference, I suppose.



None of that did anything to dull the excitement of the characters, though. Stuart populated her world with fascinating people who you wanted to follow. I wanted Will to read more of Sabrina's diaries so I could learn more about her too! I wanted to hear more about Will's family, hear more about his background with the bitchy exes. I loved the world that was built around a family of assassins and how they make their way in the world. Worldbuilding only works if you care enough about the people who populate that world. Stuart succeeded in making me care about them. Of course, making me care about the main characters is really a basic characteristic of a good writer. I know it may seem like it is complex, but that is because so many writers can't make that happen. A truer sign of a complex writer, however, makes you care about the secondary and tangential characters as well. They aren't just props for the main characters to move around, but they have three dimensional thoughts and motivations of their own. I got that from the secondary characters in both "Screwed" and "Hooked". The characters weren't just there as roadblocks (cockblocks?) but could easily be turned into heroes and/or heroines in their own right. Well, maybe not Mark Green. I really don't like that one.



Even though I liked all four of the main characters, I think I preferred "Hooked". Don't get me wrong, I loved Will and Sabrina (and Will....did I say that already?). But, I really thought John and Tish had more chemistry. And while I really liked Tish, she seemed to irritate me in a way that made me wonder why I cared so much. That isn't to say that Will and Sabrina weren't good, because they most definitely were. There was a real depth there, definitely more serious, and not just because of the circumstances that led to them being on the run. Each of them had (or seemed to have)lived more life, had more to overcome which made it nicer when they found each other. John and Tish seemed to be more fun. I was equally happy that they found each other. And, even though there was the drama in John's past that made him commit to the non-lying, it still seemed more light hearted and fun.



Overall, very good book with two very strong stories. I can't wait to read more from her.


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Review: Body Chemistry

Body Chemistry by Dara Girard

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I should tell you, up front, that I did not finish this book. So, take that into consideration if you plan to keep reading.



Girard had a few good things going on in this book. I like the idea of the Black Stockings Society, and it could have been a very interesting plot point. Who doesn't get all excited at the thought of a secret society? And I absolutely love a plot line with exes. Yep, I sure do. But this was a book where the ideas were good and the execution just didn't do it for me.



First of all, all of the characters were problematic. Brenda had her moments where she was extremely likeable. But, there were more moments when she seemed defensive and angry and condescending. I didn't see why anyone would want to be with her at all, quite frankly. Dominic was boring. There was no conflict in him. He had everything (except the girl) but that made him kind of blah. Where was the excitement? The only character that showed some spark was the resident jerk, Dr. Franklin. I was looking for more in the way of character development (or even interest) and it wasn't there. There were glimmers of it (which is why the book gets 2 stars from me) but I was hoping for more.



The real problem I had with this book, however, was the writing style. I realize this is a personal preference, but it really did bother me. There was much "telling" in this book instead of showing. The book started with a letter, which sets the plot into motion. But, immediately after that, things are slowed down my the way Girard puts too many words between the reader and the characters.

Brenda Everton calmly put the letter down on her desk. She had no urge to crumple or throw it but accepted it for what it was: a rejection.

Well, does the reader need to be told what she had the urge NOT to do? I know she didn't have the urge to do that. Why? Because she didn't do it.

She swung around in her chair and stared out her office window. She placed her hands on the arm rest. "Damn" she said in a soft whisper that quickly disappeared in the empty room. She listned to the sound of the clock, which seemed to keep time with the light drizzle of rain outside and the footsteps walking past her office door.

That last sentence was the best in a paragraph that was desperately in need of an editor.



I wanted to like this book, I really did. I read through the cumbersome writing, hoping that when hero and heroine finally met up it would be worth it. Unfortunately, there was very little magic between the main characters. They didn't spark with me individually or together. At that point, I gave up. I would try another book by Girard, but this one was a wash for me.


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Review: Infinite Crisis

Infinite Crisis - Part 2 by Greg Cox

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Yeah, I can't see any reason to review the parts individually. Both parts of this are awesome, although I haven't read the original graphic novel so I don't have much to compare it to. This isn't just a reading of the novelization, however. It is a full production with cast and effects and it sounds much like it would if you were watching it on tv, but with the added descriptions because you are listening and not watching. The hits and the violence can sound almost brutal, which, I suppose, they really are when you think about it.



The "not seeing" can be a problem if you, like me, have a very limited familiarity with DC comics. There is a very large cast in the Infinite Crisis and it was sometimes hard to tell who was good and who wasn't just by hearing the names. It took some effort, but I'm sure that wouldn't be the case for people who were better versed in the DC Universe. That really was the only downside to this audio. Run right out and get it.


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Review: I Love a Man in Uniform

I Love a Man in Uniform: A Memoir of Love, War, and Other Battles by Lily Burana

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
You all know how I feel about memoirs: don't trust 'em. Not my fault, I've been hurt before. BUT, I found this book absolutely charming, brutally honest (sometimes more than I think I needed to know) and very entertaining. It starts off strong, giving you a picture of the "perfect" Army Wife and then Burana tells you she is not that woman. Usually, the best compliment I can give to a memoir is that it "reads like fiction". This, to me, means that it isn't slow or overly detailed or dry like some memoirs, but is fast paced with snappy dialogue like the best fiction books. This book is fast paced with snappy dialogue, but you never get the feeling that it isn't real. There is always something there, lingering in the background, that tethers you to the reality that this is someone's life.



The Iraq War looms large over this book. First in anticipation of Major Mike going, then while he is gone, and then when he comes back. Burana was mostly very respectful of the Army, both as an institution and the political leadership thereof, so if you're looking for a book that bad talks the military, or something along those lines, best to move along. It doesn't happen here. What you get here is a wonderful insight into her life as an Officer's wife, and the adjustments she had to make. The chapters on West Point were fascinating and informative, but there was also plenty of humor to be found in the book. I'd always wondered what real Army wives think of the show Army Wives for instance. (She is an addict. Like me.) And calling the military "Uncle Sugar" cracks me up for a reason I still cannot identify.



One of my favorite parts came near the end where Burana, sick about the atrocities at Abu Ghraib, came face to face with Donald Rumsfeld at the Army-Navy football game.

"Shifting back and forth, I weighed the possible outcome of saying something to her husband, and no matter how angry I was over the hell that Rumsfeld and his crw had wrought, all I could envision were my words casting a long, dark shadow over my husband. For all my fury and indignation I would not win this war with a personal attack, and by Rumsfeld on the spot, I would be serving no one but myself. What he did to our contry might be unforgiveable, but so, too, would be turning a football game into my own personal bully pulpit. My husband committed to a vocation of selfless service and sacrifice. I would match his sacrifice with discretion. For the first time in my loudmouth life, I chose impassioned silence."

I'm glad she chose to break that silence to write this book. Very well done.


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Tuesday dump!

Ever wondered how books are ordered for a library? I was cleaning out my email today and found this lurking there. Someone in the system asked for a brief (ha) description of how we decide what to buy. This was my reply. Enjoy.

Well, I guess the first thing to say is that all fiction titles are eligible for purchase. There used to be an unwritten policy that we didn’t buy certain types of romance fiction (mostly the series romance books) but that is no longer the case. I don’t immediately reject something just because it was published by a certain company (like Harlequin) or because it is romance or whatever. If it is fiction, we consider it. But, just because everything is considered doesn’t mean everything is purchased.

Reviews are less helpful in fiction than in non-fiction because, unlike with non-fiction, there isn’t a blatant wrong answer. In NF, you can reject a book because it gives out bad information. (Like saying, for instance, that AIDS is spread by sharing water fountains.) That is just completely wrong, and we wouldn’t buy a book that gives out bad information. With fiction, reviews are just what people think about the book. They can like the story, or not. They can like the writing, or not. They can like the author, or the genre, or not. That doesn’t mean that any given reader will agree. So, it is difficult to rely strictly on reviews. Plus, there are a lot of fiction books that don’t even get reviewed and some that are, in genre specific magazines, may or may not be anything more than “I hated this book.” Not helpful. That said, I do READ reviews. Sometimes.

So, if not reviews then what? Well, the aforementioned genre magazines. Mystery News, Mystery Scene, Romantic Times, Locus, The Bulletin of the SFWA and Starlog are the main ones. Lots of web sites. Overbooked. (www.overbooked.org) Early Word (www.earlyword.com) GalleyCat (http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat) CoaIM (http://www.sarahweinman.com/confessions/) are the best ones. Plus a handful of fiction listservs.

When I first started here, I had SS make me a list of branches with all kinds of neat demographic info. But, with floating, none of that matters. You just put a number in and that’s how many we have. They start out in certain places, but who knows where they will end up. Most things end up just fine, but there are some collections we haven’t been able to get right. African American fiction is the one that immediately comes to mind. The others are classics and science fiction/fantasy. I have found things in the Booksale, discards, that still have holds because people think that just because a SF/F book is not going at their branch, they should throw it away…..without checking Horizon. Floating is a partnership and I really rely on public service staff to make sure we are keeping things we need to have. They have to know who the big authors are, who has a high re-read rate, or a large number of new readers (Nora Roberts comes to mind) and who is just a flash in the pan. They need to know multiple genres and authors in those genres, an they need to do all of this without their own personal biases entering into it. For the most part, public service librarians do an awesome job. But, as with anything else, there are some areas that need work. Without them, though, this system won’t work. I only buy the books, and if they’re discarded, then we’re right back where we started.

Keeping up with new trends is essential. We buy erotic fiction, which is pretty much standard in the romance genre now. No more holding hands and then ending with a smooch. J We buy urban fiction. We buy books with werewolves, and were-lions, and…..no, I’m not kidding! Vamps, and ghosts, and whatever it is. We have a ratio of number of copies to holds, but that is flexible. I rely heavily on previously purchased works by the author to determine the number of copies. If their most recent books have done well, I’ll increase the number of copies. If I look on Horizon and see that the author’s last book has 5 copies, with 5 circ between all of them, then I’ll probably buy fewer. If those 5 copies all have double digit circs or a current hold list, then I’ll probably increase the number of the next title. If the author changes styles, or genres (for instance they go from historical mystery to paranormal romance) then I’ll increase if the new area is more popular, and decrease if not. I NEVER BUY ONE COPY OF ANYTHING. NEVER. There is no place in a 24 branch system for one copy of a new book. The fewest I’ve bought is 3 copies and even that makes me feel like I’m not giving it a chance to succeed. The most copies I’ll buy is 300. Anything over that requires more fortitude than I have. We rarely have anything go over 900 holds, so 300 is sufficient. For the bestsellers, I’ll start out with 200 (James Patterson, John Grisham, hardcover Nora Roberts) and then go from there. Strangely enough, paperback Nora Roberts titles don’t gather as many holds, even when they aren’t re-issues. Don’t know why, that’s just how it is.

Audiobooks: Because we are getting them at a much more reasonable price, I buy more copies and I buy more titles. More titles are coming out in audio format, and it is everything from the huge bestsellers to paperback originals. If it is available, I’ll try anything once. I’ve found that until you put it out there, you don’t know if people will like it. GraphicAudio specializes in paperback original authors and they make audiobooks that are like big budget action movies. People find them entertaining. They circ pretty well, and they’re only $19.95, so it’s a win-win situation.

Downloadable audio: the same basic rules apply. Because they have a mandatory 3 week loan period, I’m likely to buy more copies than I ordinarily would so people don’t have to wait so long.

For now.....but I keep hoping for an upgrade to X!

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Review: The Steel Remains

The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was my first experience with Richard Morgan, so I have nothing else to compare it to. Reading some of the other reviews on GoodReads, I see that many people prefer his straight Science Fiction works to his new Fantasy series.



I thought this was an excellent book. It started with action, and it rarely let up. Yet, it was had complex plotting, intrigue, and the most realistic characters I've seen in a book in a long time. All of the characters in this book, even the characters you see just briefly, are multi faceted. If there are "plot device" characters in this novel, I certainly couldn't pick them out. They were well integrated into the story, not just devices stuck in to move plot points along. The main and secondary characters showed a depth that, frankly, has been missing in fantasy fiction of late. The relationships between the characters was complex, each of the three main characters having lives that were not easily described. All of them had faults, some big some little, and all of those faults weren't neatly tied up when it became time for them to become heroes again. They continued to be faulty characters who rose to the occasion. Isn't that just the way of people?



The one thing I would change about this book is the beating me over the head with the homophobia of the general populace. I get it. Ringil is gay and the peoples don't like it. Honestly, his being gay is not the most interesting thing about him, or the book. Bigotry happens. Archeth faced it too. Egar's situation was much more interesting as the bigotry towards him was about ideas (him having them instead of sticking with traditions) instead of physical attributes. I just thought it was overdone. But, if that is the biggest problem with this book, that isn't much of a problem at all.



The book is action filled and thought provoking and complex. If Fantasy novels are your thing and you don't object to violence or sexual situations, this is the book for you. But, it is violent, so be warned. Definitely an adult book, not for the kiddies.


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Review: One Taste

One Taste by Allison Hobbs

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
The blurb on the front says "A Fast-Paced Sex Thriller with a lot of Eroticism" but the book did not deliver. It delivered fast pace and sex. There was nothing "thrilling" or "erotic" about it. You can't create eroticism just by using naughty words. That isn't enough anymore and there wasn't enough here to get me engaged.



I didn't like the characters and I don't think I was supposed to. The first thing we see is materialistic Regina and it all goes downhill from there. She isn't sympathetic at all, even though Hobbs tries to build in a backstory of heartbreak around a son who died in an accident. Maybe if we would have gotten the full story about the son up front it might have helped create more of a connection with Regina. Instead, we get the barest hint of her pain, but it seemed contrived without the full story. Her husband is another completely unsympathetic character. Did this man have ANY redeeming qualities? Any at all? He was a cardboard cutout character, there only to give Regina an excuse to do everything she did. Not only does that not work for him, it doesn't work for her either. Why do I feel badly for her when she stayed with someone like that? I don't believe that she did it for love. Why? Because there wasn't anything lovable about him, that's why. There wasn't anything lovable about either of them.



The rest of the characters were equally two dimensional and un-interesting. They showed no depth, no growth, no individualism. So if you have characters like that guess what suffers? That's right, the sex.



To put it bluntly, there was nothing sexy about the sex in this book. It wasn't hot. It wasn't "freaky" (despite the blurb from Zane on the back of the book). It was plain, like checking off the list of words: Pussy? Yep. Dick? Uh huh. Clit? Gotcha. Cum....yep. Great! We hit our quota. If it wasn't plain, it was ridiculous. I mean, did you really say:

"Yeah, his dick was husky like a mufucka"

Seriously? And I'm supposed to be aroused by that or laughing my ass off? Because I'm still laughing. Which is too bad because the one redeeming quality of this book was Cochise (aside from his nickname.) He was the only character that straddled the line between two dimensional and fully developed character. He wasn't all the way there, but he came closer than any of the others. He had his own voice and hinted that Hobbs might be a better writer than this book suggests.



But I knew I was in trouble on the first page with

"She could eye spy a knockoff with just a glance"

She could "eye spy"? Really? That's something a person might say, that doesn't belong in the narration. There is an old adage for writing called "show, don't tell." There is a lot of tell in this book, and not nearly enough show. Would I try another book by her? Probably. There were glimmers of things in this one that gave me hope. But, I'll definitely be checking out from the library instead of forking over my own recession dollars.


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It could just be me

But I think it kind of dulls the danger to be advertised as having a special (read cheaper) price.

Maybe you could be Cheap as Sin? Somewhat Dangerous? Maybe they could put the frickin' sticker somewhere else?

Review: Talk Me Down

Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Do you know what is harder than writing a review of a book you really didn't like? Writing a review for a book you LOVED. You don't know where to start. You don't know when you're crossing the line from intelligent review to giggly fangirl. You don't know how you can do the book justice. The truth is, you can't do it justice because you have to READ THE BOOK to understand why it is so good. You can't capture that in a review. The best you can do is a "Why I liked this book" summary:



First and foremost, I loved the heroine in this book. If any of you read my reviews (and really, why would you?) you know that I have a longstanding problem with heroines. Either they are whiny, or stupid, or have GHH (glittery hoo haa) or everyone wants to sleep with them, be them, worship them, and have done nothing to earn that devotion. They often are mean with no repercussions treat their best friends (and everyone else) more like sidekicks than friends and make me wonder why anyone would want to be around them at all. Molly Jennings wasn't like that at all. Instead, she was warm and funny. She was kind, vulnerable and, most importantly, she was hilarious. Seriously hilarious. Yes, there were times when I wanted to hit her over the head with my book (just TELL HIM ALREADY, MOLLY!) but that happens all too often in real life as well.



Ben was equally awesome and didn't leave me wondering "What the hell would he want her for?" He wasn't hunky yet brainless. He wasn't, in my opinion, easily cateogized in the alpha or beta boxes many people like to shut heroes in. He was well rounded. He wasn't perfect, wasn't superhuman, wasn't anything other than himself. The fun part of the book was finding out exactly what that was. You found out right along with Molly and Ben as they found out about each other.



The plot was perfect. It kept you guessing, it threw you off track, it moved at the same pace as the book. A lot of books really want to focus on the "romance" part of the book and let the rest of the plot drop until it is needed to advance the book. This one kept all parts integrated so you never really forgot the overall story.



The best part of this book, though, was the voice. All the characters, including the narrative voice, were distinct. No one sounded alike and, better yet, no one sounded stilted. Conversations flowed, and sounded like people talking not characters talking. It makes me wonder if Dahl read this out loud as she was writing, because there weren't any awkward phrases or pieces when any of the characters talked to each other. It didn't matter if they were main characters, or secondary, they all sounded realistic. And hilarious. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud while reading this book. The circumstances Molly got herself in to, many times unapologetically, were great. Lori, Helen, Juan, Quinn, even icky Cameron and Molly's parents were all people you could picture in your head as you read the words. You really can't appreciate how special that is unless you've read books that never come close to that level of writing. It isn't something everyone can accomplish.



And the sex? Hot. Fun. Hot. I don't know what else to say about that.



Overall, I can't say enough good things about this book. It'll be like catching up on the exploits of a friend you lost touch with. And I think, at the end, you'll be happy to see whatever happened to that Molly girl you used to know.....


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Review: 3

Three by Julie Hilden

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
It wasn't so much dislike that made me give this only one star. It was more disinterest. There was an interesting hook to start the book: a woman catching her husband with another woman. Okay, I'm intrigued. And back cover copy told me that said wife would agree to an "open" marriage of sorts. That's why I picked it up! The author has already won me halfway over because I picked up the book. But, it takes more than that to keep me interested.



The prose was written well. The book had a literary look and feel to it. And, even though it may seem like I have a bias against modern literary fiction, I really don't. Some of it is interesting, and some of it isn't. This one wasn't. The characters were bland. They weren't sympathetic at all. I didn't like any of them, and I didn't dislike them either. I just turned pages. Pretty soon, I didn't care enough to continue to do that. I didn't care about their motivations. The sex was boring, even though it was supposed to be illicit and exciting. It wasn't the words that made the sex boring, it was the lack of interest in the characters.



A lot of people enjoyed this book, and that's great. Anything that is positive feedback for an author is a good thing. For me, though, this was a disappointment. I probably won't be trying any of her other fiction.


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Review: I'm Down

I'm Down: a memoir by Mishna Wolff

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm skeptical about memoirs now. It wasn't just James Frey that made me skeptical. Since then, there have been many memoirs, both published and unpublished, that have proven to be false. So, while I very much liked this book, I'm not at all convinced that it was true. The beautiful thing is that it doesn't matter. If it is true, great. I can't wait to read the rest of the story. If it isn't true, great. I can't wait to read the rest of the story.



The writing was engaging and it read like fiction. It moved along fast and there weren't really any lulls to skim through. I almost wish this book was fiction, because that would make the narrator a lot more reliable. When I was reading this, I kept thinking "This is how YOU saw it. But I wonder how it really was." Which isn't to say, of course, that she deliberately lied. But, if these things are happening to you, then of course you're going to spin them with your own interpretation. That, and you're only privvy to the conversations you had access to.



The other thing was that the book ended too soon. Unless she's planning to do another one, and maybe she is, I thought it ended way too early. What happened in high school? What happened with her parents? What happened post high school? I know it was supposed to be about her "growing up" but it just seemed to end in an awkward place. I wanted to know more. I suppose wanting to know more is the best compliment you can give a memoir.



If you're planning to read this book (and from the cover how could you NOT want to read it) don't expect any deep philosophical answers about race relations (or anything else) from it. Expect to be entertained, and you won't be disappointed.


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Bad Cover

Seriously. If you can look at this and NOT make Hulk sex jokes, you are a better woman than I. Love her. HATE the cover.