Couples that kill together, stay together.

Broken by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ms Armstrong writes cool, unsentimental werewolves. None of the barf-inducing romantification of a potential spree killer who look at humans as meat.

Broken is the third book in the Elena Michaels and Clay Danvers series. I like they way they have grown as characters, the flow and ebb of the relationship, how it all ain't sugar and roses.

This time round, the adventure includes a pair of zombies.

Werewolves and zombies, fun and games all around. Go read.


Favourite quote:

"That's all I get after three years? We spent a harrowing week together, locked in an underground prison, fighting for survival --"

"I was fighting for survival. You were drawing a paycheck."

"Hey now, in my own way, I was just as much of a prisoner as you."

I snorted. "A prisoner of your greed."

"Trapped by my shortcomings. It's tragic really."


Male protagonist: 4/5 stars
Female protagonist: 4/5 stars
Storyline: 4/5 stars
Pacing: 3/5 stars
Fun Factor: 4/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 3/5 stars

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Nothing says love like running away together from a maniac

Deception Cove by Jayne Castle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is the latest installment of Jayne Castle's Harmony series. Adventure? Check. Steamy romance? Check. Demented villain who would have been a Mary Sue if not for psychopathy? Check.

The book hit all the right notes, but nothing particularly spectacular.

If you're a fan of paranormal romance flavoured with a little sci fi, go for it.


Favourite quote: He gave that some thought. "Not that I'm against sex in a garage or anywhere else, for that matter."


Male protagonist: 3/5 stars
Female protagonist: 3/5 stars
Storyline: 3/5 stars
Pacing: 3/5 stars
Fun Factor: 3/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 3/5 stars

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Down the rabbit hole to tripping the acid fantastic

I first came across this song on Supernatural, the television show that ate my brain (not that I could spare the little grey cells, so little do I have them) in one of the most fabulous opening scene in the history of television. I love the imagery evoked by both the melody and lyric of this song; silk-wrapped menace stalking in the shadows on midnight, propelling you towards a path less travelled, much like the seduction of a pooka taking you on a midnight ride.

For the record, I have always found Alice in Wonderland (in whatever incarnation) truly creepy. Adventures are all fine and well, but seriously, the story is like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for children. Incomprehensible, fueled by mind altering substances, tripping you into dream-like experience that is quite likely to be damaging one way or another.

But all those are the reasons that make this song the perfect anthem to many urban fantasy novels. Simon R Green is a British novelist with more than two dozen novels under his belt. Mr Green first caught me with his Nightside series, a noir horror fest of a London underground parallel universe called the Nightside where it's always three o'clock in the morning. Gods and monsters abound in the Nightside, and everything is out to get you (literally).

I love the way he fleshed out this world with the Timeslips and aliens from other dimensions marching side by side with ancient evil and primordial soup fear distilled into its purest form. The protagonist, John Taylor, is a private investigator with an unusual gift, a sly tongue and a penchant for white trench coats. He tries to do the right thing, which could go horribly wrong in the Nightside. He often ropes in friends and enemies to help solve the case of the day; colourful characters like Dead Boy, Suzie Shooter, Razor Eddie, and many more. If you are a fan of noir, do give this series a shot.

Mr Green also have another series about the Drood family, chronicling the (mis)adventures of Edwin Drood AKA Shaman Bond, the man with the golden torc. The series is a nice rollicking adventure in the psychotic vein of the James Bond series, with over the top villains and crazy magical technology to add LSD to the action sequence. The series are fun to read, but re-reading value is rather low for me.

He has several other book series, but I've only come across the first book of the Ghostfinders series. Sadly, I don't find it as fun as John Taylor's investigations so I didn't bother with the rest. However, I am intrigued by the Deathstalker series, but not piqued enough to invest money for it.

All in all, if you're into urban fantasy and are looking for a new author to try, go ahead and give Mr Green a shot.

Secrets of a stay at home mommy

The Expats by Chris Pavone
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

*edited because I am wide awake and could assemble my thoughts better.

I had stopped reading spy thrillers or any kind of thrillers in my late teens. I find them formulaic and depressing, though I still enjoy over-the-top, psycho-sociopath Bond as written by Ian Fleming and the crazy adventures in Alistair Maclean's novels. The latter I treat with respect; some of his books made me cry crazy buckets (say, Guns of Navarone or HMS Ulysses).

When I read the review of this book in The Sunday Star, I was intrigued. A former spy female protagonist in a thriller? Bring it to mama, sugar.

Sadly, as a reader who favours characters over plots, I don't find Mr Pavone's characterisation of Kate convincing. I am willing to forgive clunky story telling if I love the characters (I'm looking at you, Laurell K Hamilton). Somehow, I don't think a female former spy would let matters of trust and privacy to stop her from finding things out about her husband when she sniffed something suspicious about his new job.

Also, as the story was near totally from her POV, I find that Kate I is ... boring. I get that she has to make a huge transition from being a CIA analyst to being an expatriate hausfrau, but her desperation at the banality of her life is so ... meh. Perhaps she's not a larger-than-life character as I am used to reading in other genres, but seriously, it's hard to want to root for her. Or her husband. Or the antagonist characters. They're all so meh. You expect some unexpected jalapenos somewhere when you read about spies (they have licence to kill!) but this is like consuming a huge bowl of oatmeal pudding. Bland and never ending.

The timeline jumps did not help matters. It's a bit disorienting because the flashes are disjointed; what does it have to do with what's currently going on? Perhaps if I re-read the book I can pick up the pattern of the chronological leaps, but I really cannot be bothered to re-read this.

However, I will admit that Mr Pavone has a gift for describing scenes that really makes you feel like you're a part of the scenery, even smell the coffee served at the corner boulangerie. For instance:

"She can see past the woman to the bright, leafy courtyard at the other end of the dark breeezeway whose walls are filled with mailboxes and electrical junctions and rubbish bins and loose wires and chained-up bicycles. Her own building has a similar passage; there are thousands of them in Paris. All competing for the best-place-to-kill-someone award."

It was an interesting foray into the genre, but I don't think I'll be picking up another sample anytime soon.

Male protagonist: 1/5 stars
Female protagonist: 2/5 stars
Storyline: 3/5 stars
Pacing: 2/5 stars
Fun Factor: 2/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 1/5 stars

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Dangerous my foot

Dusk with a Dangerous Duke by Alexandra Hawkins
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

... spoilt brat is more like it.

I usually do the page 99 test when trying out a new author but this time around, I only did the flip the last few pages and thought that this book had promise. I mean, beaning of a baddie with a bedwarmer to rescue the hero? Sounds like game on, right?

Wrong.

You have a group of guys who call themselves Lords of Vice. You hope to have them be snarky and dissipated. What you get is a bunch of guys who get together and chitchat like Valley girls. WTF?

Urgh.

The heroine. I had so much hopes for someone who rescued the hero with a bedwarmer. But somehow she seems schizophrenic to me; alternating from innocent miss who loves her neglectful fiancee to I-will-marry-anyone-to-foil-my-uncle virago. I find it hard to reconcile someone who wants to preserve her inheritance at all cost by getting married before turning 21 would snub a ready-and-able fiancee in search of a mythical love match in a few week's time. It's not ... logical. Just make up your mind: do you want to preserve your inheritance or marry for love? Because the scenario simply paints that you can have one but not the other.

How to deal with such annoyance? I skipped pages till the end because dammit I paid good money to rent this book and Ima finish it.


Male protagonist: 1/5 stars
Female protagonist: 1/5 stars
Storyline: 2/5 stars
Pacing: 1/5 stars
Fun Factor: 1/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 0/5 stars

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Anthematic: Gone Away

My Brightest Diamond's Gone Away + Sherry Thomas book (any) = cry fest.

When you read, do you have a soundtrack that plays through your head? I do, especially if the story is truly engrossing and compelling.

This is why I love authors like Carrie Vaughn and Kim Harrison; they share the soundtrack to which they write the book du jour.

Fabulous way to discover new music, yo.

You've Got a Tweet

Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Teresa Medeiros is a great source if you enjoy comedy romances. She writes mostly in the historical genre, but her forays into contemporary writing is also quite fun.

I gulped this book in about two days (if I read it straight, would probably take me 2-3 hours). I love the font; nicely spaced and easy-to-read serif (I can't identify what kind).

Ms. Medeiros explored the life of a one-hit-wonder author facing a massive writer's block and an uncertain future who discovered microblogging. In the light of many people who found their partners online, her examination of this reads to me like watching an Ephron sisters' movie. Fast paced and peppered with witty repartee, this book shows how our online persona becomes markedly different, thanks to digital anonymity.

Unlike her usual trademark of strong swashbuckling heroes, Ms. Medeiros' Mark Baynard is very much an ordinary fellow with a secret. Abby and Mark navigated their online courtship to lead to a satisfyingly happy ending with the usual pitfalls, angst and tearful reconciliation.

You may think that this has been done to death before, but nonetheless, Goodnight Tweetheart has a sweetness and realism to it that smacks of real life poignancy that is charming and wistful.

Male protagonist: 4/5 stars
Female protagonist: 4/5 stars
Storyline: 4/5 stars
Pacing: 4/5 stars
Fun Factor: 4/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 4/5 stars

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Magic in the air ...

Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the latest (final?) installment of the series that started with Christmas in Friday Harbour. Lisa Kleypas has always been my go-to author for stories with epic emotions and larger than life characters.

(the rest is under cut for spoilers)

It's just not right anymore

I always zone out when I listen to audiobooks, but I may make an exception to this one.



*giggles hysterically, rolling on the floor*

Boy and his dragon

I read this book because it was recommended by a friend who gave me an appreciation for Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. I was looking for new authors to read (as usual) and was contemplating other genres than those I am comfortable with. So when she told that Robin McKinley is super awesome and I should try her, I looked for her books in the place where I rent the fodder for my habit. To my delighted surprise, they do have two books by her and I took this one.

I like dragons. I like the mythology of dragons, be it Asian or European. Sadly I don't get many (try almost none) books about Africa, African mythology (that is non Egyptian, that is) or written by Africans. Do they have dragons in Africa? I suppose they should.

But I digress.

This book was written almost diary-like, but more like a mental diarrhoea. The time stamps were only mentioned in passing, and the voice was completely written from a single point of view of the protagonist. This isn't necessarily bad; I like a lot of books written in the first person from a singular point of view. But the protagonist started off as a fifteen year old boy who thinks in sentences the length of an average paragraph. There was a great deal of emotional urgency in many parts of the book, particularly elucidating his bond with the dragonlet he adopted. I suppose that it is the only way to convey how intense and unusual the bond was considering biology and psychosocial adaptation (this is my personal brand of psychobabble).

However, I find this style of writing tiring to read. The story line was actually very interesting and gave me food for thought about people and non-human creatures and our relationship with them in this shrinking world. We humans think that as the vicegerent of the planet, it is only our plans and our convenience that matters when making decisions affecting other non-human life forms. This brand of arrogance is awful and often comes to a bad end, not just for the non-humans, but us as well.

I did finish the book, just so that I could wade through what the author had in mind for the perpetuation of the dragons. It took me ... three weeks of off-and-on reading? It was still tiring. I didn't like it that twenty odd year old Jake still thinks in sentence structures and vocabulary of the fifteen year old. I didn't like it that adult Jake didn't seem to make the leap towards thinking like, well, an adult. I also didn't quite like how self-absorbed Jake was from beginning till the end of the book. The other human characters are just like window dressing to give the story some extra dimension. There was greater character development for the dragons than for any of the humans. It's like the other human characters are just there to give support to Jake and very little else. I don't know, it just feels weird to me.

But if you are in it for a glorious story about a boy and his dragon, then this book is it. If you are character driven, the way I am, you probably wouldn't enjoy it as much. The pace is too slow for my taste and the only enjoyment I got at the end of the book is the sense of accomplishment that I finished the damned thing. 

Protagonist: 2/5 stars
Storyline: 3.5/5 stars
Pacing: 1/5 stars
Fun Factor: 2/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 1/5 stars (only if I was stranded somewhere and had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE to read)

Epic music is epic

I don't get book trailers. I mean, I'm a reader; my expectations are good blurbs and a chapter or two of excerpts to whet my appetite. CGIs and melodramatic smouldering glances from unknown actors? They just made me go, "Huh?"

But apparently it's pretty big in the publishing world and every week I'd get a link to the videos from the trade newsletter that I subscribe too. However, this trailer is super cool.

 

 Steampunk samurai Japan? I am *ON*, baby!

Glassy eyed at the end of it

... and not in a good way. :p

The premise was very interesting; a young woman trained to be an assassin was betrayed and punished to work in a salt mine. How she got out of the salt mine and what happened next. The world building was very nicely done but something just kept niggling at the back of my head.

The character development. *snaps finger*

The assassin came off as a petulant girl at times; one would think that a year in the salt mine would have honed her personality to greater essentials. At the end of it, I think the characterisation is more of a self-projection of the author, but with cool scenario. It was acknowledged that the story was written when the author was sixteen; so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

The story was interesting but the plot development is rather wishy washy. Too much attention on personal angst and reading books, not enough on the King's Champion competition and the deaths of the competitors. Her whiny-ness made it kinda tough for me to buy that she's such an awesome assassin what can win easily cos she's been trained since she was 8. Two important male characters vying for her attention; shades of Twilight? I think if the characters were not imbued with so much contemporary teens' sulkiness (for all three characters), I may like this book better.

But that's just me.

There were hints of back story and apparently, e-novellas to expand the story are available. This is just Ms Maas' first book. Perhaps she'll be a stronger story teller in her subsequent novels.

Male protagonist(s): 2/5 stars
Female protagonist: 2.5/5 stars
Storyline: 3/5 stars
Pacing: 3/5 stars
Fun Factor: 2/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 1/5 stars

Biblioholic

This is not me.

Spoilery reviews under cut.

I never knew ...

... that recording audio books is so much hard work.



Not to mention awkward.

Books read: week 10

I have a habit of re-reading books, especially those I love (like this one and the second one in this list) that it slowed down the number of books that I devour.

 

1. Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke

 

 

Hero: 3/5 stars

Heroine: 2/5 stars

Storyline: 4/5 stars

Pacing: 3/5 stars

Fun Factor: 2/5 stars

Repeat Reading Factor: 1/5 stars

 

I heard good stuff about Ms Guhrke and she was recced to me by a friend on Goodreads. I really want to like her books, I do. After all, I need new authors to follow to feed my insatiable reading habit. Alas, though the premise was interesting, the follow through was disappointing. The hero was okay to me, but when the heroine suddenly devolved into this fishwife after being no more exciting than a doormat, the book just lost its lustre for me. The bits that pulled the heroine's bacon out of the fire was a bit too pat for my taste, but in the absence of other readables (and the fact that I forked out money to rent it), I consumed it till the end.

 

2. Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells

 

 

Hero: 3/5 stars

Heroine: 3/5 stars

Storyline: 3/5 stars

Pacing: 3/5 stars

Fun Factor: 3/5 stars

Repeat Reading Factor: 1/5 stars

Again, another recced author. Premise was all right, lousy follow through and the development of characters and plots were meh. Pity since she is quite prolific.

 

*sigh*

 

3. Set the Dark on Fire by Jill Sorenson

 

 

 

Hero: 5/5 stars

Heroine: 5/5 stars

Storyline: 4/5 stars

Pacing: 4/5 stars

Fun Factor: 5/5 stars

Repeat Reading Factor: 3/5 stars

 

This book was a pleasant surprise. I picked it up because I had a few more bucks of rental money, but it was a nicely constructed book with interesting characters and great plot development. I adore how "real" the characters were, flawed and yet still striving to do the right thing. 

 

It was a little disconcerting in places because of the shifting POVs, but once you kept track of the major players, it was a breeze. The character interactions were fluid and realistic, the imagery crisp and descriptive that you feel the head of the dry lands of south east California.

 

I will look for her other works next time. 

4. Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

 

 

Hero: 5/5 stars

Heroine: 5/5 stars

Storyline: 5/5 stars

Pacing: 4/5 stars

Fun Factor: 5/5 stars

Repeat Reading Factor: 4/5 stars

 

Eloisa James is one of the rare authors whose work I did not enjoy in the beginning, but then grew to love. I came across something she wrote way back in the late 90s but somehow it just didn't appeal to me. But now, I devour anything new that she produces.

This book is a reinterpretation of the classic Cinderella tale, except that this time around, the heroine doesn't wait around waiting to be rescued. Oh, and the prince wasn't really that charming.

Great banter, great characters, great plotting.

I hope that the butler gets his own story too.

 

5. Blood Royal by Jonathan Green

 

 

Hero: 3/5 stars

Storyline: 4/5 stars

Pacing: 4/5 stars

Fun Factor: 3/5 stars

Repeat Reading Factor: 1/5 stars

 

Sherlock Holmes meet Phileas Fogg with mutant insect people and Victoriana. This is a fun and adventurous read, reminiscent of the style made popular by Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle. Very deux-ex-machina and the dialogue is a little clunky at times, but over all a nice way to spend your reading hours.

 

6. Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

 

Protagonists: 5/5 stars

Storyline: 4/5 stars

Pacing: 5/5 stars

Fun Factor: 4/5 stars

Repeat Reading Factor: 3/5 stars

 

This is book 1 of the Kane chronicles, a new series by young adult author, Rick Riordan. I started reading him courtesy of my friend Iztoy who lent me the first three of the Percy Jackson series. It was about how Carter and Sadie Kane worked to save their father (and incidentally, the world) by stopping the god Set from unleashing the forces of chaos. Based on Egyptian mythology, the vivid characterisation and storyline really captures you from page one.

 

Now, to find book number two ... 

 

Steam punk romance are the H-bomb!

I have always enjoyed reading Meljean Brook stories in anthologies. Her short stories are tightly plotted, well-paced with peopled with awesome characters you fall in love with. However, I found her Guardian series disappointing, but who cares when her steam punk romances are like totally awesome?

Hero: 5/5 stars

Heroine: 5/5 stars

Storyline: 5/5 stars

Pacing: 5/5 stars

Fun Factor: 5/5 stars

Repeat Reading Factor: 5/5 stars

Basically, it's about two damaged people drawn together in an adventure fraught with megalodons and kraken monsters, zeppelin airships and nanoagents. Can't say much more without massive spoilers, but seriously, read this. Guys will enjoy the adventure and technology aspects, the romance addicts will be swept away but the grand passion. 

All in all, a fabulous time was had while reading this.

New stuff I've read this year ... so far

It has been 7 weeks and I have only read 8 books! Been so busy, so slow down a lot. Yeah. Right.

I read mostly romance and I don't apologise for it. I don't care if I don't know who won the Booker Prize, I don't want to read 'em. If it's a Nobel Laureate of Literature, please don't pass it to me. I am a Phillistine and I am okay with it.

Once I fall in love with the work of an author, I obsessively search out her/his catalogue of work and read everything I can get my grubby hands on. I follow them and urge (silently) that they type faster and publish more to keep feeding my reading habit. Hence, 6 out of the 8 authors below are authors I have been following, some since my teenage years. 

Since I am a creature of habit, I keep gobbling whatever it is they write even after they shifted style or had become plodding or whatever. Hey, we all evolve, right? Hopefully for the better, but if not, whatever. So even if they have shifted style into something that makes me go "meh", but I will continue to read them until they no longer write. Or I no longer have money to rent. Or the books really just swerved into "Do not go there!" territory. Whichever comes first.

Under cut because of loads of pictures. Not in chronological order.

Of damaged heroes and cynical heroines

Hidden Honor by Anne Stuart

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the first book I finished in 2012! Let's see how good I am at cataloguing all the stuff I read for this year. *grin*

At least Ally McBeal was mildly entertaining...

In the Barrister’s Chambers by Tina Gabrielle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The premise was intriguing; a historical romance novel about lawyers written by a lawyer? Sounds awesome, right?

Don't judge a book by its blurb.

Belladonna by Anne Bishop

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I did not like Anne Bishop's style or the universe she created. I find her unnecessarily convoluted and her storyline unsatisfying. The characters feel like caricatures to me; basically, the protagonist is the textbook definition of a Mary Sue, in my humble opinion.

Am I too harsh? Maybe I got spoiled by Patricia Briggs' sword-and-sorcery books that have the plots tightly woven peopled with engaging characters. But then again, sword-and-sorcery is not a favourite genre of mine anyway.

Ri, jangan marah ya. Nanti kena jual. :p

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