Book Logging
Dec. 5th, 2011 07:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckBlack Butler 1-5 - I think I was expecting something darker than what I found here. The story works well enough (though I'd be happier without the comic relief set of servants. I cringe when they're on the page). I'm also not sure what to make of the anachronisms. I'll be quite comfortable with the Victorian setting, and then something will smack me in the face as not right. I'd prefer either more anachronism (so that I get used to it) or none at all. The central conceit, that the boy has sold his soul to a demon who's acting as his butler, works well enough. I think it needs more backstory. I assume that's coming in later volumes. The library only has through volume 5, so I'll be waiting a while.
Bride's Story 1 - The art on this one is gorgeous. I could spend hours just looking at the details. The plot interested me less (this is not to say it didn't interest me. It's just that the art is spectacular). It follows a girl who has recently married into another family and how she adapts. Her family is having second thoughts about the wedding and wants her back, just to add some tension.
Burgis, Stephanie. Kat, Incorrigible - I think this is an excellent book for someone who isn't me. The heroine shows remarkable pluck by working at solving her family's problems, even when they would rather she didn't. The problems are real, and she has limited tools available to her. The part that didn't work for me was that the story required her to go from trouble to risky undertaking to more trouble to another risky undertaking. I couldn't cope with the anxiety. It's a pity. I hoped to enjoy this book a lot.
Burrowes, Grace. The Heir - I enjoyed this romance. I liked both hero and heroine and didn't find anything annoying about their interactions. He's nobility. She's his housekeeper. She has secrets (enemies) that lead to complications.
Burrowes, Grace. The Soldier - I enjoyed this less than The Heir. That was largely because there's a love triangle at the center of the story. I liked all three characters and felt bad for the guy who wasn't the hero. There's an interesting treatment of PTSD. The hero is having a very hard time after being involved in the Napoleonic War. There is a child in the story, too. I didn't find her annoying, but I also wasn't engaged by her.
Chase, Loretta. Silk Is for Seduction - I'm glad I got this from the library. There was nothing I could put my finger on, but it didn't work for me. I simply didn't care about the hero and heroine. I tried looking at the end of the book to see if that would pull me through, but I found myself not actually believing in the happily ever after. The heroine and her two sisters own a dress shop and have their eyes set on increasing their business by snagging a high profile client, the presumed soon to be Duchess of whatever it is. In order to get to her, they have to persuade the duke (the hero) that they're good enough.
Constable, Kate. The Singer of All Songs - This book wasn't bad in any way, but I'm not sure it was good either. Everything felt superficial, and none of the characters ever surprised me. There's a bad guy bent on attaining ultimate magical power, and a group of varied characters gather together to follow him and try to stop him. I wanted to like the book better than I did.
Evanovich, Janet. One for the Money - I barely started this one. I was hoping, having seen Donna Andrews compared to Janet Evanovich, that this would be a series I could enjoy, but I found myself not caring for the main character and not comfortable finding the situations funny. Obviously, given the length of the series, it appeals to a lot of people. I'm just not one of them.
Hiaasen, Carl. Flush - This was fun and engaging. The main character has to deal with his father being arrested for sinking a casino ship because it's been dumping sewage into the water of the Florida Keys. The main character sets out to prove that the ship really is dumping waste. It won't get his dad off the hook, but it will make people stop calling his dad crazy.
Jeapes, Ben. Xenocide - This is another one that I didn't finish. I was intrigued by the aliens, three different species, but I couldn't get myself through the center of the book. The plot involves humans and an allied species caught spying on another species with which they've not established open contact. There's a good bit of death involved as those being spied upon have no reason to assume good intentions. The xenocide of the title was carried out by the species being observed against yet another species that inhabited a different planet in their solar system. Part of the plot involves discovering the reason for the xenocide. I'd recommend this to someone looking for SF with some military bits and decent world building. It just wasn't for me. I probably wouldn't have read as much of it as I did if it hadn't been the only book I had with me during one of Delia's basketball practices.
Krentz, Jayne Ann. Fired Up; Running Hot - I don't remember now which of these books was which. They were both pretty standard Arcane Society romances with heroes and heroines with unusual, high powered psychic abilities. I miss the days when Krentz's books had some whimsy, but these weren't awful.
McKay, Hilary. Indigo's Star - As I think I remarked when I logged Saffy's Angel, I find myself completely lacking sympathy for the parents in this family, and being who I am and where I am in my life, I think more about the parents than about the kids, even when the book focuses on the kids. This one is about Indigo making a friend and that friend finding a place in the family so as to find his own balance with his own family. There's a good deal more to it, and it's enjoyable, but I kept being distracted by being annoyed with the parents.
Prime Baby - I'm not sure what to say about this one. It wasn't bad, but it didn't make much of an impression on me. I think maybe it needed to be longer to get me to attach to the characters. Basically, a boy discovers that he can communicate with aliens through his baby sister. The aliens can use the baby as a gate to our world.
Quick, Amanda. Lie By Moonlight - The villain's plot in this one made me boggle. I'm not at all sure I buy it as workable. The hero and heroine were likable enough, even if they did fall in love with remarkable rapidity. There were four supporting characters who rather annoyed me, more because they blurred into each other than because they were actively irritating. This was a bog standard Quick romance with a ludicrous suspense plot. The heroine is hired to act as governess for four orphaned teenagers. She quickly comes to realize that all is not well, that they're prisoners and need to escape. In the opening chapter, she and the girls are making their escape and run into the hero who helps them out.
Reeve, Philip. Larklight; Starcross; Mothstorm - I enjoyed these three enough that I'm going to push the books on CD on Scott (he listens to those in the car on his way to and from work. I hope these are decently performed). I also sped through these, one after another, and was sorry to run out. After Yuletide, I'll have to try the author's other books. These are set in an alternate nineteenth century in which the British Empire rules the solar system. There are alien species everywhere. Space is filled with aether, rather than being a vacuum. The books follow a boy and his sister as they have adventures defeating various threats to the Empire. The books are quick reads, humorous and great fun. Highly recommended.
Schaffer, Mary Ann and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - This epistolary novel builds, incident by incident, memory by memory, a portrait of life in the Channel Islands during the German occupation. The letters are all written after the war, but the events are still so close that they're almost overwhelming. There's humor, and there's pain. Neither overwhelms the other. The book led me gently along. I pretty much managed to read it from beginning to end, instead of skipping around the way I usually do. Recommended.
Snyder, Laurel. Penny Dreadful - Based on Snyder's other books, I expected magic in this one. I didn't find it. Apart from that expectation, I found the book readable. I liked the characters. Penelope and her parents start off in a city, living in a mansion and being fairly miserable. Then everything changes. Her father quits his job, and there's suddenly no money. Then everything changes again when her mother's aunt (great-aunt? I think so) leaves her a house in the country. The family moves there and finds surprises and a different set of troubles.
Wrede, Patricia. Across the Great Barrier - This suffered from middle book syndrome. A lot of things were hinted at without solid resolution. It did, at least, have a more or less standalone plot. There's a lot more exploration of dangerous territory and more information about the megafauna and magical wildlife. I still feel a gap where the native people ought to be, though. I think it would be a more interesting book (and series) with them present.
Zimmer, Carl. Parasite Rex - I like Zimmer's blog, so I thought I'd give one of his books a try. This one just happened to be the first one that came up. Zimmer is obviously fascinated by parasites, and he manages to share that with readers. I still had visceral ick! reactions to the parasites, particularly to those that live in humans, but I kept reading because I wanted to know more. Quite readable if you have any interest in the topic. I suspect that it wouldn't interest anyone with more than a layman's knowledge of parasites, but it made a decent introduction to the subject.
Bride's Story 1 - The art on this one is gorgeous. I could spend hours just looking at the details. The plot interested me less (this is not to say it didn't interest me. It's just that the art is spectacular). It follows a girl who has recently married into another family and how she adapts. Her family is having second thoughts about the wedding and wants her back, just to add some tension.
Burgis, Stephanie. Kat, Incorrigible - I think this is an excellent book for someone who isn't me. The heroine shows remarkable pluck by working at solving her family's problems, even when they would rather she didn't. The problems are real, and she has limited tools available to her. The part that didn't work for me was that the story required her to go from trouble to risky undertaking to more trouble to another risky undertaking. I couldn't cope with the anxiety. It's a pity. I hoped to enjoy this book a lot.
Burrowes, Grace. The Heir - I enjoyed this romance. I liked both hero and heroine and didn't find anything annoying about their interactions. He's nobility. She's his housekeeper. She has secrets (enemies) that lead to complications.
Burrowes, Grace. The Soldier - I enjoyed this less than The Heir. That was largely because there's a love triangle at the center of the story. I liked all three characters and felt bad for the guy who wasn't the hero. There's an interesting treatment of PTSD. The hero is having a very hard time after being involved in the Napoleonic War. There is a child in the story, too. I didn't find her annoying, but I also wasn't engaged by her.
Chase, Loretta. Silk Is for Seduction - I'm glad I got this from the library. There was nothing I could put my finger on, but it didn't work for me. I simply didn't care about the hero and heroine. I tried looking at the end of the book to see if that would pull me through, but I found myself not actually believing in the happily ever after. The heroine and her two sisters own a dress shop and have their eyes set on increasing their business by snagging a high profile client, the presumed soon to be Duchess of whatever it is. In order to get to her, they have to persuade the duke (the hero) that they're good enough.
Constable, Kate. The Singer of All Songs - This book wasn't bad in any way, but I'm not sure it was good either. Everything felt superficial, and none of the characters ever surprised me. There's a bad guy bent on attaining ultimate magical power, and a group of varied characters gather together to follow him and try to stop him. I wanted to like the book better than I did.
Evanovich, Janet. One for the Money - I barely started this one. I was hoping, having seen Donna Andrews compared to Janet Evanovich, that this would be a series I could enjoy, but I found myself not caring for the main character and not comfortable finding the situations funny. Obviously, given the length of the series, it appeals to a lot of people. I'm just not one of them.
Hiaasen, Carl. Flush - This was fun and engaging. The main character has to deal with his father being arrested for sinking a casino ship because it's been dumping sewage into the water of the Florida Keys. The main character sets out to prove that the ship really is dumping waste. It won't get his dad off the hook, but it will make people stop calling his dad crazy.
Jeapes, Ben. Xenocide - This is another one that I didn't finish. I was intrigued by the aliens, three different species, but I couldn't get myself through the center of the book. The plot involves humans and an allied species caught spying on another species with which they've not established open contact. There's a good bit of death involved as those being spied upon have no reason to assume good intentions. The xenocide of the title was carried out by the species being observed against yet another species that inhabited a different planet in their solar system. Part of the plot involves discovering the reason for the xenocide. I'd recommend this to someone looking for SF with some military bits and decent world building. It just wasn't for me. I probably wouldn't have read as much of it as I did if it hadn't been the only book I had with me during one of Delia's basketball practices.
Krentz, Jayne Ann. Fired Up; Running Hot - I don't remember now which of these books was which. They were both pretty standard Arcane Society romances with heroes and heroines with unusual, high powered psychic abilities. I miss the days when Krentz's books had some whimsy, but these weren't awful.
McKay, Hilary. Indigo's Star - As I think I remarked when I logged Saffy's Angel, I find myself completely lacking sympathy for the parents in this family, and being who I am and where I am in my life, I think more about the parents than about the kids, even when the book focuses on the kids. This one is about Indigo making a friend and that friend finding a place in the family so as to find his own balance with his own family. There's a good deal more to it, and it's enjoyable, but I kept being distracted by being annoyed with the parents.
Prime Baby - I'm not sure what to say about this one. It wasn't bad, but it didn't make much of an impression on me. I think maybe it needed to be longer to get me to attach to the characters. Basically, a boy discovers that he can communicate with aliens through his baby sister. The aliens can use the baby as a gate to our world.
Quick, Amanda. Lie By Moonlight - The villain's plot in this one made me boggle. I'm not at all sure I buy it as workable. The hero and heroine were likable enough, even if they did fall in love with remarkable rapidity. There were four supporting characters who rather annoyed me, more because they blurred into each other than because they were actively irritating. This was a bog standard Quick romance with a ludicrous suspense plot. The heroine is hired to act as governess for four orphaned teenagers. She quickly comes to realize that all is not well, that they're prisoners and need to escape. In the opening chapter, she and the girls are making their escape and run into the hero who helps them out.
Reeve, Philip. Larklight; Starcross; Mothstorm - I enjoyed these three enough that I'm going to push the books on CD on Scott (he listens to those in the car on his way to and from work. I hope these are decently performed). I also sped through these, one after another, and was sorry to run out. After Yuletide, I'll have to try the author's other books. These are set in an alternate nineteenth century in which the British Empire rules the solar system. There are alien species everywhere. Space is filled with aether, rather than being a vacuum. The books follow a boy and his sister as they have adventures defeating various threats to the Empire. The books are quick reads, humorous and great fun. Highly recommended.
Schaffer, Mary Ann and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - This epistolary novel builds, incident by incident, memory by memory, a portrait of life in the Channel Islands during the German occupation. The letters are all written after the war, but the events are still so close that they're almost overwhelming. There's humor, and there's pain. Neither overwhelms the other. The book led me gently along. I pretty much managed to read it from beginning to end, instead of skipping around the way I usually do. Recommended.
Snyder, Laurel. Penny Dreadful - Based on Snyder's other books, I expected magic in this one. I didn't find it. Apart from that expectation, I found the book readable. I liked the characters. Penelope and her parents start off in a city, living in a mansion and being fairly miserable. Then everything changes. Her father quits his job, and there's suddenly no money. Then everything changes again when her mother's aunt (great-aunt? I think so) leaves her a house in the country. The family moves there and finds surprises and a different set of troubles.
Wrede, Patricia. Across the Great Barrier - This suffered from middle book syndrome. A lot of things were hinted at without solid resolution. It did, at least, have a more or less standalone plot. There's a lot more exploration of dangerous territory and more information about the megafauna and magical wildlife. I still feel a gap where the native people ought to be, though. I think it would be a more interesting book (and series) with them present.
Zimmer, Carl. Parasite Rex - I like Zimmer's blog, so I thought I'd give one of his books a try. This one just happened to be the first one that came up. Zimmer is obviously fascinated by parasites, and he manages to share that with readers. I still had visceral ick! reactions to the parasites, particularly to those that live in humans, but I kept reading because I wanted to know more. Quite readable if you have any interest in the topic. I suspect that it wouldn't interest anyone with more than a layman's knowledge of parasites, but it made a decent introduction to the subject.
