Quick Haiku Reviews

This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas (NEW READ)

Won writing contest
College, boys, but something is wrong
Stalked by a priest, yuck

Avalon High by Meg Cabot (REREAD)

Camelot reborn
Elle is NOT the Lily Maid
Though she loves the pool

"Magic Strikes" audio, "Bleeding Violet", "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case"

Nicolas Sayre and the Creature in the Case by Garth Nix (REREAD)

Like I mentioned in my Lirael review, Nicholas seemed kind of bad-ass in his first appearance before he got all possessed and needed to be saved. Since he seems to be set up as a possible romantic interest for Lirael, obviously he should be tough as nails or at least not afraid of zombies. In this novella he not only gets to be the resident freakish incident expert, he gets his own James Bondian chase sequence involving motorcycles, cars and trains. Dark as most of this series, with lots of deaths, this story was also a lot of fun and I wish there would be more stories written in this world.


Magic Strikes (audiobook) by Ilona Andrews, read by Renee Raudman (NEW LISTEN, REREAD)

This series is one of my favorite reads I've come across in the past few years. I love to reread them, but that doesn't mean they'll make a good audiobook. A lot depends on the reader, and in this case it's a perfect fit. RR is just right for the protagonist Kate Daniels, but she also does a mean Southern accent (and not True Blood Southern, Beeeeeeel!). The snarkiness of the narration shines through in audio form, with all its asides and in-jokes ("Dingoes ate my baby!" makes an appearance). There are books I love that I won't touch in audio, but this series is getting added to my Audible list ASAP.


Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves (NEW READ)

I just finished this book 15 minutes ago, and I'm still a little shellshocked. It turned into something totally different than I was expecting, much darker than most paranormal YA coming out today. By the end of the day so much crazy violence and magic has happened that the protagonist's manic depression has become a minor problem, even one that is beneficial to her. Not even sure how to write a summary for this unless I think about it more, but people looking for some YA fantasy with a dark, dark twist might want to give this book a shot.

Gotta Fever, and the Only Prescription is more Audiobooks

Since I've been working on knitting as many hats as possible, I've turned to audiobooks and gotten completely hooked on the one I listened to this weekend.

Lirael by Garth Nix (REREAD) (YA, fantasy)

Lirael spends her childhood feeling like an outsider. Physically distinctive from all her cousins, she also lacks the gift of foresight that is the mark of her people. When she finds she must leave on a mysterious journey she meets with Prince Sameth, a man with a dangerous job he is not sure he can actually bring himself to do.

This audiobook is narrated by TIM CURRY. So great! My favorite is when he does the voice for the small, evil, white cat. His women's voices can be a little nasal but it's Tim Curry and he's so great I don't care.

One character who seemed very different to me in my relisten of this book is Nicholas. For most of the book(s) he is possessed or sickly with everyone trying to rescue him, but for the 15 minutes or so when he's NOT possessed he's actually kind of badass. He saves his rugby team from being blown up by friendly fire, helps them start a signal and make noise then grabs a sword to fight a necromancer. And... that's about as far as he gets. But still, not bad.


Honestly I've always loved this because because it's so teenage emo. Lirael doesn't fit in, she feels like she'll never be as good as everyone else, blah blah. It's like a slow-flowing stream of emo interrupted by awesome monster killing and talking dog. Once the adventure really gets going I have trouble putting my CD player away to go to bed, so the story does pick up.

Sam is pretty emo too- at one point he even admits to himself like he's acting like a spoiled baby- but he also has a lot of fear, which I think is a cool thing to see in a fantasy hero, most of whom don't seem to feel fear at all (or if they do it's just a kind of nervousness). Sam is genuinely terrified of death, to the point where he has awful physical symptoms. I like his unexpected talent, and would like to see more of it and how it works (in another book maybe pleeeeease?).

Looking forward to finishing this tonight and moving on to "Abhorsen".

Mine Till Midnight

Worked late last night but finished off my day by reading:

Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas (REREAD) (romance)
I almost always enjoy Lisa Kleypas, but this book employed one of the romance book standards I don't really care for- the instant "I want that person and don't know why" on the part of the guy. I mean REALLY? You have no idea? Is it because she's hot? Because she's a classy lady? Because she's an intelligent and family-focused woman? Pick a reason, it would be more realistic than this befuddlement!

Despite the not-so-beloved trope use the rest of the book was very enjoyable. The heroine's family are all eccentric in their own ways, and there is especially some character development in the case of the second sister Win (heroine of the next book) and Leo, the older brother also had his own character arc. Not sure that I like this series as much as "The Wallflowers" but it is still one of my picks for historical romance.

Sick Day Reading

I spent Monday home with a stomach bug, so I read quite a bit:

The Twelve Kingdoms: Skies of Dawn by Fuyumi Ono (REREAD) (YA, fantasy, epic)
This is some of my favorite Twelve Kingdoms material. There are more characters than in the first arcs which can make it confusing, but I love how all the viewpoint characters in this series start out as horrible people and personal journey themselves into awesomeness. The introductory sections can drag a bit but the coup against corrupt officials is super-exciting (especially once you know who is taking part in it). I'm not usually a shipper, but I'm all for Shoukei x Kantai like woah. She's a former princess! He's a general who's sometimes a bear! Together they're all about piggyback rides and doing the dishes together, awww.

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews (REREAD) (urban paranormal)
This series is a cure for all the overpowered, hyper-sexy paranormal romance heroines out there. Yes, Kate is powerful, but she gets hurt an awful lot, sometimes doing stupid things. The worldbuilding and magic are well thought out, and there are plenty of interesting secondary characters.


Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews (REREAD) (urban paranormal)
Read two in a row, just because I had the time and could. :P

Tudors in the Privy

Henry VIII, non-sexy flavor

(REREAD) Henry VIII: The King and His Court by Alison Weir
   I'll admit to keeping a book in the bathroom just in case, but I'm not camping out in there like a guy. The ideal bathroom book has to be something that you can pick up and put down at anytime and still be entertained, and this 600+ page biography fits the bill. Filled not just with the facts of Henry's life, it also covers what life was like for those at the royal court. Some of my favorite details were things like the rules the had to set down for behavior: No peeing on the floor, No drawing a penis on the wall. The more things change, huh?

   It's also interesting to see how overwhelmingly positive people were at the start of Henry's reign and how as he aged they became less optimistic. Henry was pretty much like the second coming until he started divorcing queens and breaking with the church. There's some nice coverage of all the palaces built during his reign, though not all of them have survived to the present day. This is a book to reread whenever you feel like going back in time to learn about a different way of life.