Ravings of the Semi-Lucid

Title: Miles Errant
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Science Fiction
Grade: A
Reason for Reading: I've fallen in love with the Vorkosigan series, and I think this is the last Vorkosigan omnibus there is. After that, it's all individual books.


Note: I normally like to write slightly more detailed reviews that contain less fangirl squeeing, but, really, I love this series to distraction so that's impossible.

( Read the rest of the review )

I apologize for the fact that this review feels a bit scattered, but I wanted to put my thoughts down before I went to bed. You see the things I do for books I love.
Title: It Had to Be You
Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Genre: Contemporary romance
Grade: A

Synopsis: TWO HEARTS COLLIDE
The Windy City isn't quite ready for Phoebe Somerville—the trendy, outrageous and
curvaceous New York knockout who has just inherited the Chicago Stars football team.
And Phoebe is
definitely
not prepared for the Stars' head coach Dan Calebo—an Alabama-born former gridiron
legend and blond barbarian.
Calebo is everything Phoebe abhors—a sexist, jock taskmaster with a one-track mind.
The beautiful new boss is everything Dan despises—a meddling bimbo who doesn't know
pigskin from a pitcher's mound. So why is he drawn to the shameless sexpot like a
heat-seeking missile? And why does Dan's good ol' boy charm leave cosmopolitan Phoebe
feeling awkward, tongue-tied and frightened to death?
Suddenly there's more than just a championship at stake. Because passion's the name
of
this game—and two stubborn people are playing for keeps!

My Thoughts: Like most of Susan Elizabeth Phillips's books, this one has a summary that screams "Wacky hijinks found here!" However, people on my romance discussion group were shocked and appalled that I hadn't read a SEP book before, and so, since this one has appeared on my librarything suggester, I figured why not. I never expected to love it.

What we have here is an exciting story with fully realized characters. In most other authors' hands, Phoebe and Dan would have been reduced to caricatures. But here I believed what SEP did, and I loved watching the struggle these two had to find love.

Phoebe was a wonderful character. She acts outrageously to cover up for some horribly traumatic things that have happened to her in her past. I'm sure some readers would question her motivations, but they worked for me. And Phoebe, like me, has a thing for nerds. Even though Dan is a jock, she is also drawn to him because he's definitely a smart man. I also liked watching Phoebe struggle to come to terms with her father's bullying and manipulations and to establish closeness with her sister.

As for Dan, well, he's just as well-drawn. He has been married to a state legislator, but the marriage didn't work out, and now he just wants to find someone who wants to settle down and raise his children. I liked that though he was an alpha male, he wasn't so much in control of every situation, although I do have to say that his ex-wife was a completely sleazy bitch. Ugh, the sex scene we got with her was seriously squick-making.

The romance was wonderful and well-paced, and during the inevitable moments near the end when it looks like things might not work out, I was tense and practically biting my nails to see what SEP would do to resolve everything. Which I'm glad to report that she does, rather neatly.

My quibbles are minor. The villains were definitely not as well-drawn as any of our protagonists, and sometimes I thought SEP went over the top with them. But the fact that she didn't descend into camp and stereotypes with the rest of the characters makes up for that.

I would recommend this book. I breezed through it while waiting for a ride home from the store and kept reading until nearly 2 A.M., which is something I don't often do, thanks to my tendency to get distracted by shiny objects. SEP does wonderful romantic comedy, and I cannot wait to read the sequels to this book.

Title: Slave to Sensation
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: paranormal romance
Grade: A
Reason for Reading: There was so much buzz about this book last year that I was curious.

Synopsis: This novel is set in an alternate and slightly futuristic Earth where there are three different species of humans. Psys are the ones with mental abilities, who have been ruthlessly conditioned not to feel emotions. Our heroine, Sascha Duncan, however, is flawed. She's always been able to feel emotions, a fact that she has to hide from every other psy or risk her own death.

Sascha begins working with Lucas Hunter, the alpha of a leopard changeling pack which is trying to build new homes in its territory. The changelings are everything the psy are not--highly emotional, sensual creatures. Sascha gradually finds herself drawn to Lucas. But there's more to their interactions than some business deals. Someone's killing changeling women, and Sascha and Lucas are drawn into a perilous situation that could end in war if the killer isn't caught.

My Thoughts: I knew this was going to be an A book when I started it this weekend. Singh does everything right, and she had me rooting for these characters from the very beginning.

I loved Sascha. She's gone through a hell of a lot in her life, and she very much wants someone to love her, but she's afraid to open herself to that. My heart ached for her, and I was rooting for her and Lucas, and honestly, at one point, I wasn't sure how Singh was going to manage to make everything work out between them without resorting to a deus ex machina. Thankfully, she didn't.

As for Lucas? Well, let's just say that I have a soft spot for shapeshifting cats and leave it at that. I thought he was smoking hot, and I loved the chemistry between him and Sascha. There were definitely some scenes I read on the bus that had me squirming in my seat and wishing for ice water.

The secondary characters are wonderful, and I especially liked watching Sascha's budding relationship with Tamsyn, Dark River's healer. So often girlfriends in romances simply aren't ever around, and I was glad Singh created a bond between the two women. Also, Tamsyn is already mated, so she wasn't set up for sequel bait. In fact, though we do meet some of the characters that feature in the next books, there's no way Singh could have told the story without including them.

As to the setting? I loved it. I want to go visit this version of Earth, and I was left with questions that I hope are answered in the next books--like what the place in society is for those humans who are neither psy nor changeling.

If I have a quibble, it's that the villain was a bit obvious in retrospect. But then, I'm not sure how else Singh would have explained things, so possibly I just need to get over myself.

Anyway, a lovely book. Very highly recommended.

Title: Wild at Heart
Author: Patricia Gaffney
Genre: Historical Romance
Grade: A

Synopsis: It's 1893 Chicago, and a man has just been discovered wandering around Southern Ontario. He doesn't speak, and he's completely wild. He's brought to Dr. Harley Winter, an anthropologist at the University, who begins experimenting on him. During this time, the man becomes a source of fascination for Winter's daughter, Sydney. When Sydney discovers that the lost man can speak, the anthropological experiments they're trying become negated and it's up to Sydney and her siblings to teach the man, who remembers that his name is Michael, to adapt to his new world.

My Thoughts: I decided to read this book thanks to Candy of Smart Bitches, who is an unashamed Gaffney fangirl. I chose this book to start because it contains a premise I wish I saw more often and which I love, that of a wild man teaching society what it means to be human. So I was predisposed to liking it, and then promptly fell into the book and didn't emerge until I finished.

What I liked best about Gaffney's writing is that she draws wonderful characters. Everybody is nuanced and three-dementional. We don't have the stereotypical absentminded professor, the caricatured unsuitable fiance, or the annoyingly precocious child. Dr. Winter, his assistant Charles West, and Sydney's little brother Sam are true characters in their own right.

And it goes without saying that I adored Sydney and Michael. Sydney was very much a woman of her times, and there are so many things about her that a less skilled author could have drawn out to make me dislike her. She's a bit of a doormat at times, and of course there's the bit about West, who starts out courting her. But I understood Sydney's motivations, and I appreciated the fact that she seemed to be a genuinely kind person, with a few very human flaws. I especially liked that she wasn't a virgin. She'd had sex in the past, with her husband who's been dead for a while when the story opens, and she misses the intimacy, which is why she lets West sniff around her even though she doesn't like him much.

As for Michael? Ahh, Michael. He was so completely perfect. I loved his wonder and horror as he discovers this new world, and I almost cried for his deep and abiding loneliness and the sense that he had that he just didn't belong anywhere, once he was rescued and brought back to civilization. I also thought Gaffney struck a good balance when it came to his backstory. It was present, but didn't overwhelm the story of his life in the present.

Also, I should mention that I loved the setting. I love that particular time period in American history, and plus, as I may have mentioned, I'm a bit bored with Regency set historical romances at the moment. So 1893 Chicago was a fun place to visit.

My only niggle is minor. It constitutes a spoiler, though, so I'll just say that Michael's real family felt a bit too fairy tale perfect for me. I don't know what I would have wanted for him, but I'm not sure that they were it.

Aside from that though, which is something that may very well work for people other than me, this was a wonderful book. Highly recommended.

I know, two reviews in one day. It's kind of amazing, really.
Title: The Elvenbane
Author: Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey
Genre: fantasy
Grade: A

Synopsis: Two masters of epic fantasy have combined in this brilliant collaboration to create
a rousing tale of the sort that becomes an instant favorite. This is the story of
Shana, a halfbreed born of the forbidden union of an Elvenlord father and a human
mother. Her exiled mother dead, she was rescued and raised by dragons, a proud, ancient
race who existed unbeknownst to elven or humankind. From birth, Shana was the embodiment
of the Prophecy that the all-powerful Elvenlords feared. Her destiny is the enthralling
adventure of a lifetime.
( This will run long, and there will be spoilers )

Title: Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America
Author: Barbara Ehrenreich
Genre: nonfiction
Grade A

Synopsis: Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich
decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare
reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive,
let alone prosper, on $6 to $7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida
to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work
as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson.
She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental
and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend
to live indoors.

My Thoughts: I had to read this book for my social problems class, which I've written about before. We're supposed to be analyzing a social problem sociologically, and I decided to tackle the working poor specifically so I could read this book. Though a lot of what the book reveals is no great surprise to me, given what I've experienced and the stories I've heard, it was still a very insightful, thought-provoking book. The book really does emphasize the problems faced by the working poor, and I thought Ehrenreich's closing analysis was spot-on.

Title: Dreaming of You
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Genre: Historical romance
Grade: A
Summary: She stood at danger's threshold--
then love beckoned her in.
In the shelter of her country cottage, Sara Feilding puts pen to paper to create
dreams. But curiosity has enticed the prim, well-bred gentlewoman out of her safe
haven--and into Derek Craven's dangerous world.
A handsome, tough and tenacious Cockney, he rose from, poverty to become lord of
London's most exclusive gambling house--a struggle that has left Derek Craven fabulously
wealthy, but hardened and suspicious. And now duty demands he allow Sara Fielding
into his world--with her impeccable manners and her infuriating innocence. But here,
in a perilous shadow-realm of ever-shifting fortunes, even a proper "mouse" can be
transformed into a breathtaking enchantress--and a world-weary gambler can be shaken
to his cynical core by the power of passion. . .and the promise of love.
My Thoughts: Man, did I love this book. This is exactly what I want to find when I read a historical romance--well-drawn characters, sizzling passion, and an interesting premise.

For me, Sarah totally makes this book. I identified strongly with her, mostly because we're the same age and I enjoy writing, too. And Sarah, unlike a lot of other heroines I've read, is capable of taking care of herself. I admired her quiet strength, and the fact that she really did show herself to be a lovely person. We didn't need to be beaten over the head with her purity and sweetness and light.

Derek I liked, too. He's had a lot of struggles, and he's realizing that, like the song says, money can't buy him love. I really like reading about heroes who are totally flummoxed by their feelings for the heroines, and that was Derek's reaction.

My one quibble with the book was that I thought the evil other woman was a little over the top in her jealous craziness. Whereas most of the rest of the characters were drawn well and quite interesting, this woman rang a bit flat to me.

Other than that small detail, this was a very very well-drawn romance and I'm definitely going to be reading more Kleypas.

Title: The Unsung Hero
Author: Suzanne Brockmann
Genre: contemporary romance
Grade: A

Synopsis: After a near-fatal head injury, navy SEAL lieutenant Tom Paoletti catches a terrifying
glimpse of an international terrorist in his New England hometown. When he calls
for help, the navy dismisses the danger as injury-induced imaginings. In a desperate,
last-ditch effort to prevent disaster, Tom creates his own makeshift counterterrorist
team, assembling his most loyal officers, two elderly war veterans, a couple of misfit
teenagers, and Dr. Kelly Ashton-the sweet "girl next door" who has grown into a remarkable
woman. The town's infamous bad boy, Tom has always longed for Kelly. Now he has one
final chance for happiness, one last chance to win her heart, and one desperate chance
to save the day . . .
The Good: I'd heard a lot about Suzanne Brockmann's books about navy S.E.A.L's, and I wasn't sure I was going to like the idea of military romance, but I was pleasantly surprised. Brockmann's characterization is wonderful, and she weaves multiple plot threads seamlessly. What I especially liked was that the characters here felt like real people, not just romance novel caricatures. I could relate to them, and I got the sense that Tom and Kelly both had lives and interests and people that they cared about other than each other. They also talked like normal people do, having the same mistakes and miscommunications that we all face in relationships. Nothing here was blown out of proportion, and I felt convinced by the ending. Also, the secondary romances were well-done, and in the case of Tom's niece Mallory and David, a geeky artist who wants her to pose for a graphic novel he's drawing, were even a little more compelling than the primary storyline.

The Bad: I didn't really have all that many quibbles. I thought the end was a tad rushed, and I never really got a sense of urgency from the suspence thread. But that's a minor quibble and a personal preference, mostly. Also, there was a scene in which David tries to get a romance-reading Mallory to try Heinlein, which pulled me out of the story because I was trying to imagine what Heinlein book he would have recced to her. I never did come up with an answer to that which satisfied me.

Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed this and will be reading future Brockmann books.

Title: Dark Lover
Author: J. R. Ward
Genre: paranormal romance
Grade: A

Plot: The vampire society is in danger from a group of really evil, soulless creeps called the Lessers. In order to deal with this problem, there is a group of uber-alpha men called the Black Dagger Brotherhood. These men are over the top, both in their fighting abilities and in the things that have happened to them.

When Darius, a former member of the Brotherhood approaches Wrath, the last purebred vampire ever, to ask him to help his daughter Beth go through hjer vampiric transition, Wrath blows him off, and soon Darius is dead. So Wrath, figuring he owes Darius, seeks out Beth, and, well, this is paranormal romance, so they are attracted.

The Good: I really loved this book. I'm a fairly cynical reader, as anyone who has paid attention knows. A lot of this book ought to have had me rolling my eyes, starting with the names and the fact that the men are all uber-alpha and dominate. (The misspelling is deliberate there, BTW.) Plus... vampires, man! The paranormal romance needs more vampire books about like I need a bunch of holes drilled in my various body parts. But everything worked. Ward's storytelling is captivating, and I just couldn't set this book down for other stuff on my massive pile of books I'd like to finish before the end of the Bush administration. I loved Wrath, our hero, and Beth, the heroine, while not as well-drawn, certainly kicked ass. The secondary characters all had personalities apart from, "Look at meee! I am sequel-bait."

The Bad: There were a few cliches that did cross my mind. There really wasn't much to the bad guys except that they are omgsoevil!!!11 And the names--Wrath, Rhage, Zsadist, Phury and Tohrment--all took some getting used to.

Final Thoughts: Loved this book. Will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

Title: Miles, Mystery and Mayhem
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Summary: This is an omnibus collection featuring two novels, Cetaganda and Ethan of Athos as well as the novella "Labyrinth">

( My thoughts probably contain spoilers )

I had this whole long review of Callahan's Lady by Spider Robinson that I wrote up earlier today, and it's gone. So I guess I'll summarize, because that review was a work of genius, and cannot be recovered.

Book was interesting, but I need a break. Female narrator didn't have a unique enough narrative voice, IMO. And I missed the healing buttsex. Also, Spider Robinson hates feminists. A because I was riveted throughout, despite the things that bugged me.

I know a bunch of you have read this book, so I'll spare the summary and just say that I loved it. And, that being said, there is something really comforting in the Calahan stories. They seem like a wonderful balm on the soul for when a person is depressed. And while Spider Robinson's sense of humor isn't so much mine, and he does get a tad preachy, I forgive him for it, because I love his message. And yes, I would go hang out at Calahan's, most definitely.

Summary: The title says it all. This is a humorous account of Christ's growing up years, as recounted by Jesus's childhood friend, Bif. The story takes Joshua of Nazareth from Nazareth to a Buddhist temple in China and back and fills in on the parts of the gospel that were left out.

The good: I actually don't really have much in the way of criticism for this book. It was very well-written, IMO, and extremely funny. Also, not that I'm a biblical scholar, but it seems as if Moore actually did do his research, and the funny anachronisms scattered throughout the book were meant to be there. I didn't really have any quibbles with the book, and would definitely recommend it.

I've read a lot since the last time there was a book post, so we'll just hit the highlights:

The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love by Jill Conner Browne
God Save the Sweet Potato Queens by Jill Conner Browne
The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-ass Cookbook and Financial Planner by Jill Conner Browne
The Sweet Potato Queens' Field Guide to Men: Every Man I Ever Loved is Either Married, Gay or Dead by Jill Conner Browne
The Sweet Potato Queens' Wedding Planner and Divorce Guide by Jill Conner Browne

I loved all of these books and seriously read them all while suffering from a massive summer cold that is still hanging on. She's hillarious, witty, and insightful. I recommend reading what she has to say.

The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint

I really wish I could recommend this book higher. It just didn't work for me. De Lint at his best is fucking brilliant, but his later works just lack the sparkle of his early stuff. Even this book, which thankfully only references Jilly Coppercorn once, just didn't do it for me. Mostly this was because I wasn't convinced by de Lint's teenaged voice. Imogene, our plucky heroine, is only the kind of teenager you'd find in a de Lint book--plucky yet somehow wise beyond her years. She didn't strike me as authentic at all, and therefore I couldn't enjoy her story as much as I'd have liked. However, Adrian, the ghost whose unlife gets sort of embroiled with hers was a fun character and by far more sympathetic, for me at least.

Edited to add some grades: Given that I am really tempted to go out and buy the SPQ books on Audible just so I can listen to them being read, I'd say they're definitely all A books. The de Lint I'm giving a B- grade to, just because my memories of the book are pleasant, and he's by far better than a lot of other urban fantasy authors I've read since.

Only two this week.

Tithe by Holly Black is a fun YA urban fantasy with real, flawed, three-dementional teenagers. The heroine, Kaye, becomes a pawn in the Seelie and Unseelie courts. And Kaye and her faeries are a whole lot more likable than the seelie and unseelie courts in another famous urban fantasy series I could name.

Knight of a Trillion Stars by Dara Joy: I loved this book, though not for its heroine, science fiction writer Deana Jones. Deana is not the sharpest tool in the shed, and has several moments of hysterical neuroses that really got on my nerves. No, the fascinating part about this book is Lorgin Ta'al Cru, the alien warrior who travels through space and time to earth, which is justthe beginning of the adventures he and Deana have. Lorgin is sexy as hell, larger than life, and every inch the alpha male. Sometimes, this manifested in me rolling my eyes, but Lorgin was so devistatingly sexy that I forgave him being a complete asshole.


Joy's secondary characters are also compelling. Most of them are obvious sequel bait, from Lorgin's half-brother Rejar, whose book I want to read, to the poor, tortured, angst-ridden Traed, and the revered mystic Yaniff. It's obvious that Joy loves her characters, and she made me love them, too.

Edited for grades: In hindsight, the white trash protagonist with the rebellious spirit who is also a teenager doesn't quite work for me, since I wasn't that teenager. So Black's book gets a B+. On the other hand, I remember dreaming about the characters in KOATS, which means I'll give it an A.

I've read a lot recently and because of computer troubles haven't had a chance to update sooo.

• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein: I love this book. Loved it the first time I read it, loved it this time. Especially now that I really get it. That book made me love Heinlein. Grade: A
  
• Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons: Not terribly memorable, but a good portrayal of a group of very different, but strong women during the early twentieth century. Charlie Kate, the narrator's grandmother, is the central figure in this book, and she's a marvelous character. Grade: C+
  
• Daughters of the New World by Susan Richards Shreeve: Another wonderful portrayal of life during the twentieth century, and four generations of strong American women. This was made into a craptastic Lifetime movie that sucked me in, so I had to read the book. Naturally, the book was a lot better, and a lot less schlocky. In fact, what I really liked about it was that it was a feel-good story without being terribly sentimental. Grade: A-
  
  
• A Cure for Dreams by Kaye Gibbons: This one was short. I finished it within a couple of hours of starting. Another story of strong women in the Depression. I liked Charms for the Easy Life better, though. Grade: C
  
  
• World's End by Joan Vinge: The sequel to The Snow Queen . This didn't work so well for me because I found the style--that of a journal--insufferable and our hero is extremely whiny throughout and I spent the whole book wanting to smack him upside the head. Grade: D+
  
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith: I'd read this book before, too. I got a lot more out of it on a second reread. Another nostalgic story about life in the early twentieth century. Smith's book is surprisingly dark, with moments of sweetness throughout. Francie Nolan, the protagonist, really resonated with me, and she led a hard life, but there wasn't really anything noble in her or her family's being poor. Smith also delves into such issues as sex, marital problems, and racial tensions, and I was surprised at how candid and frank the book was in parts. Grade: A
  
  

I'm going back and forth between two books now, Joan Vinge's The Summer Queen which I'm finding interesting except that at the part I'm at now, all of her characters are either pregnant or mommies, and I'm finding that a little bit irritating, Elizabeth Haydon's Rhapsody which would be a great book if it weren't for the title character, who is very inconsistently written and who makes me want to stick a fork in her eye. (However, Rhapsody's reluctant companions, Achmed and Grunthor, are worth reading about because Achmed is snarky and Grunthor is a gentle giant and we all know I love that archetype, even if Grunthor is written with an annoying cockney accent. I'm also starting to reread Charles de Lint's The Little Country which I know is going to be great since I've reread it several times.

I forgot to put down my thoughts on Ingathering an omnibus collection of Zenna Henderson's stories about the People. Which is quite a shame since those thoughts are unashamedly positive and fangirly.

The compilers of the collelction start out by saying how, yes, Henderson is unabashedly sentimental and mawkish, but that she tells a good story so you should all read her stories anyway. Which is quite true. There is nothing particularly hard or scientific about Henderson's SF, but she does have a good feel for c haracterization, and I'm a sucker for characters I actually like.

The People, for those of you who don't know, are an alien race that crashed on Earth in about 1890 or so and settled in the Southwest. They have nifty mental abilities, and are generally morally superior to most humans. But even the People have their flaws and are capable of pride, arrogance, anger, etc.

The People have to adapt to being on a new planet where they are not always treated kindly, and end up settling in several Groups, the most notable of which is at a place called Cougar Canyon, where we meet a few recurring characters over and over again in several of the stories.

What I really liked was that for an author writing in the 60's, Henderson tackles some pretty complex social issues. My favorite of her stories, "Angels Unawares" deals a lot with fundies, and how they use the Bible as a weapon which it's not supposed to be. Depression is also a major theme for one of the characters we meet.

Other favorite stories in the book would be "Troubling of the Water", which is a companion piece to "Angels Unawares", "Return", because Glory, who is not one of the People, is just that cool and she resonated with me, and "Captivity", because its sweet sentimentality just hits me at the right spot.

Some of her later stories I don't reallly like so much, the ones that don't really connect well with each other. "Michael Without" was particularly less good, but then, it was never published, and I can kind of understand why.

Aside from that, though, a thoroughly engrossing read.

I've just finished A Storm of Swords ! Good freaking lord, that was an awesome book.
( Probably spoilerific )