So, it’s Friday morning. I’m sitting at work with a cup of tea and work that needs to be done. So, what am I doing instead? Playing catch up with my book reviews. ;) Expect another review at some point today (I hate it when I leave drafts sitting around and forget about them). For poops and giggles, I’ve read 54 books so far this year.
A Hunger Like No Other (The Immortals After Dark Series, Book 1)
Oh, dear lord. I couldn’t make it halfway through this book. I was told that it gets better toward the end, but I just couldn’t stomach the “heroine,” a half-vampire, half-Valkyrie, simpering and whimpering and being an all-around wimp. And the love interest? Oh GOD. He’s a Scottish werewolf (so many clichés!) with a horrible brogue. I have this pet peeve about writing out accents anyway; the only character I can stand to have the accent written out for is Gambit. The others irritate the piss out of me, and it’s especially true of Scottish accents. This guy says “doona” instead of “don’t.” It’s like Scottie! I just cannae read it, Cap’n! I dinnae have the power!
Maybe I’m being unfair. Maybe I’ll give this book another chance some day. But the fact that the love interest practically rapes the heroine and she swoons and enjoys it? UGH. DO NOT WANT.
7 Days Of Magic: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for the Bewitching Week
I like Ellen Dugan’s witchy books. They are very folksy and eclectic, and they do not seem to be tuned into any particular tradition, which makes them very useful. 7 Days of Magic is a book of correspondences peppered with a few simple spells. Each day of the week has deities, colors, stones, herbs, metals, and more listed, along with spells using these lists. This is a good book for building your own spells and rituals, and it includes interesting (if not particularly historically accurate) information about the various deities and corresponding objects. If you’re not cool with eclectic witchcraft, this probably isn’t the book for you, but I found it incredibly useful.
Moon Called
Ah, this is more like it! I’d consider this book an urban fantasy, even though quite a bit of it is set in the wilderness of Montana. The main setting is the Tri-Cities area of Washington, a very unusual and interesting place to set this kind of novel (I like it SO much better than the usual New York City or Los Angeles settings). Mercy, the main character, is a skinwalker, a shapeshifter who changes into a coyote. She’s not a werewolf, but there are plenty of those to go around, along with vampires and fae creatures. The creatures are familiar, but there’s something in the way Briggs puts it all together that is fresh and interesting.
Mercy runs a garage (ah, the joys of history degrees, heh) and lives next door to the local werewolf pack’s alpha, Adam. She enjoys a comfortable (if slightly tenuous) tolerance by the local werewolf pack and is even friends with a member of the local group of vampires. Her former boss? A rare and powerful metalworking fae. She was even fostered by the main pack of North American werewolves. All of this feels completely normal and natural, though, which I greatly appreciate.
The story’s mystery seems a bit stilted and rushed toward the end, and I had to flip back to figure out exactly who the bad guy was once he was revealed, but overall, I really loved this story. I lost quite a bit of sleep because I couldn’t put the book down, heh. I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.
Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody, Book 1)
I have this weird, deep love for Egyptian mysteries. I’m not usually a mystery reader, but if you set it in the Victorian era in Egypt, I’m there. I’ve had a handful of the Amelia Peabody mysteries sitting on my shelf for a while, but I just now picked up the first in the series and started reading.
HEE! I love it! Amelia is delightfully sarcastic, a brilliant and interesting character. I love her habit of planning out scathing retorts, particularly toward Emerson (whom I pictured as a somewhat burlier Richard Armitage, ha!). I like how Peters uses the older spellings of places, names, and objects; it adds more to the feel of the time period.
I lost sleep over this book, too. Not only did I stay up late reading, I also dreamed about excavating Egyptian tombs. Yeesh.
Next review: Doppelganger by Marie Brennan
Currently reading: The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters
Listening to: “Telluric Waves” by Maitreya (on SomaFM’s Drone Zone station)
Wearing: BPAL’s Loviatar (for those days when you just need to smell like a dominatrix)
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