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Reading Through the Nyte
If it has pages, I will try to read it. Admittedly, I will not always succeed, as some books honestly do not deserve to be printed, not to mention finished. After reading them, I like telling people about books-- whether to avoid them or seek them out... and so it goes...
Currently reading
Good Omens: The Nice & Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
My Antonia
Bran New Death
Fate's Edge
Brownies and Broomsticks
New Tricks
Espresso Shot
Empress: A Novel
Through Harsh Winters: The Life of a Japanese Immigrant Woman
An amazing memoir of a woman telling her daughter Akemi her life as an immigrant from Japan, living with a husband and her 13 children, undergoing deprivation, overwhelming work, sorrows, physical and emotional pain through the years up to current time. I cannot say enough about this book and how fascinating it was to read—I only wish it had been longer!
Blooming Murder: An Iris House Mystery
The author really wanted to write the start of a nice cozy mystery series set in a bed and breakfast where all the rooms are themed after types of orchids, but in all honesty, it fell flat. The mystery wasn’t bad, as far as mysteries go, but the characters were cardboard cut outs, following their designated roles woodenly and you never really got to like anyone. The romance seemed forced as well, making it a fast read but not one where I will be looking for book 2.
From coast to coast, and Canada thrown in—a book filled with the amusing and creepy things that haunt building and people from the 1700’s to the present. It was a lovely read for October, and I’m keeping a copy for those times I need a wee bit of creepy to share, or for when I’m planning a trip and want to see if there is somewhere spooky nearby!
Native American mythology, male and female leads that are strong and yet needing to find Twu Wuv, nasty evil doings of a paranormal nature and yes, sex. Yep, we’re back here in the Night Creatures universe for the final time as the publisher pulled the plug. Probably a publisher with a low sex drive, I’m thinking. Or perhaps one, like me, who wanted to shake the person that told this author to forgo plot and a good story for the kama sutra. Whatever. The series is over, the man and woman have sex everywhere—EVEN IN AN ICE COLD RIVER and in the end, the female lead saves the day along with the help of her now devoted and loving male better half. And I no longer have to write these snarky commentaries so everyone is happy.
A sticky sweet and adorable Christmas themed romance story that offends no one and charms you as you read it. Even cynicism vanishes when you read a tale told by an author who really BELIEVES in the goodness and magic of Christmas as VanLiere seems to do; yes, she makes snotloads of money doing so, but hell, the book made me tear up at the end and I can be as curmudgeonly as they come. In short, I could care less that she is raking in the cash as long as she writes the way she does.
Sometimes I wonder why I need to read the entirety of a series; in this case I know it was in the hopes it would return to the well written series it was before it became the sex series it is now. This one is with an immortal gypsy and his magical band of rom, people who die in nasty throat-ripped-out ways, a corrupt politician who forced sex on his girlfriend who is now a mayor of a small southern town, a snarky powerful female Sheriff who was once the new mayors bff. And yes, before you wonder, there is sex. Steamy, lusty, tension filled sexy moments where a woman overcomes being raped by a guy she loved and trusted by simply the sight of a stunning shirtless soaking wet gypsy studmuffin who is not just gentle and kind and loving, but is powerful in body and spirit too… and has magic! No, really, do not disbelieve in the sexy magic or tinkerbell will… err… um, ignore that. The book was not too long, there were some neat ideas that went nowhere, the characters were actually kinda neat, but mostly, there was sexual tension, gore and sex.
Oh look, a werewolf… or a ghost… and a missing sister who of course goes to New Orleans, which is the paranormal apex of the universe. But never mind all that, just let’s concentrate on the important thing. Yes, you got it. SEX. Woo hoo! More sex than you can deal with, unless you are in a prison and far from any relief of any sort. And not just sex but lusting, and self doubt for wanting sex with certain others and even a blind sexy jazzman who enthralls the world with his plaything—yep, Yanni watch out! There is a plot, but it sucks, and I am have much more fun making snark at the book than I did reading it so let me alone here. Don’t read this one; you will NOT have missed a thing and trees will thank you. Unless of course you need to read about sex. But there are other books in the series that might entertain you along the sexy way.
Yes, this is yet another Night Creatures novel, and it really shows a change in both writing style and in the general set up of the series. No longer are we really concerned solely with the Jager Suchers, but instead with paranormal creatures and their defeat by the hands of powerful men and women who happen to fall in love and have way way WAY too much sex all over the place. I will say I really enjoyed the plot—set in Hati, with a voodouin priestess searching for a master to teach her how to raise the dead in a way that will let them retain the life that had before for reasons she will tell no one. Yes, she is working, indirectly for the Jager Suchers, but the plot is all about her, her powers, the man she is attracted to, and all the crap that they go through. Oh and sex. Did I mention sex? Because there is LOTS of it. SEX SEX SEX. When they’re not doing it, they are thinking about doing it, or wondering why they want to do it with each other all the time. The ending was a bit of a “meh” as well, adding something that was totally not necessary and something that cheapened it all a wee bit. Not the sex, the plot. The sex remains constant.
Yes, this is a powerful, angry raw book, and yeah, it really needs to be read, but by the end I felt rather numb about it all. Precious was totally unlikeable, unlike the way they’re portraying her in the upcoming movie, and I liked that—I liked the fact that she wasn’t this hard outer coated softie that we’d love and defend mentally by the end of the book; you defended her because it was the right thing to do. She had been so royally abused by reality that you WANT her to win something by the end, and even if it is a tiny phyrric victory, it is a victory. But at the same time, it all got to be too much—as if the author felt that what had happened to her in the past just was not enough horror, and HERE, take several shovels more. It got unbelievable, almost – you were waiting for something like a car to explode while she walked by and burning her, or hell, a 747 to fall from the sky on her head, maiming her. In a way, it lessened the impact of what WAS happening to her and how she dealt with it.
BIG FAT SPOILER WARNINGThis might be the one and only book of the series I had issues with. No really. I get it; the series had to end, Spider had to move on, shit was hitting the fan in his life and he wanted to put these folks to bed. But DAMNIT, WHY THE FUCK DID HE KILL DOC? And WHY **that** way. I mean, he twisted himself into pretzel shaped assholes to save Jake’s wife when logically SHE died, but then to off the one character I loved so deeply that when I read the end of this book I sobbed for twenty minutes? It was cheap, and I feel a bit used, to be honest. If Jake’s wife had died as well, I’d feel less betrayed—but that was almost as if Spider was a bit too attached to those toons, and that they were the avatars of himself, Jeannie, and his daughter… and if that was the trust, shame on him. Sometimes the good guy dies… and the good GAL too…
No really—go find TIME TRAVELERS STRICTLY CASH and read it. They’re short stories; easy and light to read. You’ll laugh a lot. Then maybe even cry a lot. Then you’ll grok why folks who READ these books love them.
Have you read any of these books anywhere? GET THEM, READ THEM, and keep a light in your heart that somewhere out there the Place exists, and that you will find it.
Another issue in the Night Creature series with a really decent main female and male lead, and a plot that you really can follow easily with a twist that actually caught me in the end. I really like this series, but am a bit worried that the author is moving from nicely written plots and well defined characters where there is some sex without it being the focus to, well, semi soft core porn.
Love Climbs in
Barbara Cartland romances are light puffs of fluff, sans any IMAGINING of sex, practically. They are sweet, and easy to read-- think of them as a mini creampuff of a book and you get the idea. She *did* do descriptions nicely, and liked popping in snippets of history, a nice frosting on the creampuff. :D
Don't Get Scrooged: How to Thrive in a World Full of Obnoxious, Incompetent, Arrogant, and Downright Mean-Spirited People
Marketed carefully as a book to help you deal with difficult people, the book information often FAILS to point out it really is just one of those “chicken soup for the whatever soul” twaddles, but this time aimed at making sure you don’t become Mister or Miss Grumpypants for Christmas. I finished it… barely. You’ve now been warned.
The Complete Guide to Rubber Stamping: Design and Decorate Gifts and Keepsakes (Watson-Guptill Crafts)
The book explains stamping, shows examples, and offers aid in color selecting.