mindsplinters | Entries tagged with 2013

24) Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy - Does what says on tin. As a faithful addict of the show, I couldn't wait to read this one. It covered the darker places in more detail and made you realize what he's been through and why cats mean so much to him. Strangely, it was more "hippy-dippy" than I would have expected and there were some weird tense shifts between some chapters. That could very well have been the editor's doing, though. Who knows?

25) Restless Spirit by Cassie Miles - Cowboy Romance tropes, ahoy, mixed with law enforcement. Kidnapping plot, evil ex, distrusting heroine? Yep. It was fairly charming and fun but, over all, it went above and beyond dipping into cheese. I can only suspend disbelief so far before I call bullshit, you know.

26) Rafe's Redemption by Jennifer Jakes - A much better romance. Historical, mountain man, feisty heroine. A little brutal in places and very jam-packed with sex, it was still fun and surprised me in that it didn't turn totally away from some of the issues in the westward expansion of the late 1800's.

22) The Unofficial Suitor by Charlotte Louise Dolan - I don't remember much about it now but I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it. The characters were interesting (especially the Hero, the smuggler half-brother, and the sassy Scotch maid) and the pace lively and most of it pretty believable. There was an annoying fall to the trope of All Must Be Paired Up towards the end but, eh, a small crime compared to some of the garbage out there.

23) Regency Sting by Elizabeth Mansfield - Oh, heavens. The hero and some of the side characters were fairly charming but, if the main characters were Meant To Be Together and Deeply In Love, I'll eat my hat. I have rarely read such a supercilious, snobbish, dismissive, self-involved witch of a heroine. Ugh.

19) Wyoming Wildfire by Elizabeth Lane - Oh, lordy. I'm finding a trend in so many romance novels I lay hands on lately. This trend is the "could've been great but...". Seriously, this one could have been a pretty fun read if the heroine wasn't stupid beyond all measure and not stupid in the usual incapable way because she was tough and capable and used to taking care of herself BUT she had an absolute brain block when it came to proceeding towards her goals in a logical manner. Nice bit of mystery in it, bit of action, random loose ends and convenient tags. Meh.

20) A Dance for Emilia by Peter S Beagle - Lovely, made me cry, moving on now. Sniffles pathetically.

21) The Greek and Roman Myths: A Guide to the Classical Stories by Philip Matyszak - Hilarious and informative and I think I might have to own a copy at some point. It shows scholarship but it also has a delightful disregard for propriety and is very tongue-in-cheek at points. Also has nice bits linking the old myths to the new world, etc. So very much fun.

17) Poisoned Kisses by Stephanie Draven - A surprisingly good paranormal/supernatural romance that revolves around the idea of gods still hanging around in various levels. A bit light in the character interaction arc but that's a problem with a lot of serial romances; you only have so many words to build a relationship. But it was fun and funny and kinda hot and sweet... And you almost have to be charmed by the note of fangirl in the author's notes/dedication. American Gods and the story of Circe? Bless her socks. Also the author acknowledges pantheons outside of the standard default of Greek. Ogun? Oh, hellyeah.

18) Kiss Me Once by Thomas Maxwell - A rather lousy attempt at a noir-style mystery. I think it was the author's first and it seems like it's the first in what is planned to be a series. All I know is that there were parts that weren't bad but most of it was slow, plodding, and without much feeling. Seriously. You realized that 98% of the cast would be dead by the end and you didn't give a damn. In fact, you wanted it to happen sooner. I had a brief happy moment at the start where I thought the dubious heroine might be an undercover British spy but, no, she was just a crazy idiot. Oh, well. It's read and it will be gone now.

13) Vacation with a Vampire and Other Immortals by Maggie Shayne and Maureen Child - 2 novellas that would have been better served by being longer works. Or at least the first one by Maggie Shayne would have been better if it was allowed to be longer. The concept of vampirism and the root of it in her world is interesting, at least, even if the hero was the tired cliche of Wounded Romantic Sensitive Vampire. The second story... Dude, this lady spent way too much time watching Highlander and (maybe) smoking pot. I spent way too much time giggling and waiting for the hero to say "My name is Bain Sinclair of the Clan Sinclair. There can be only one."

14) Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger - I've been meaning to read this for a while and kept passing up copies so, when I found it in a used bookshop in NOLA, I had to get it finally. Even knowing that it had a lot of stories that had already been exposed as blatant bullshit and gristmill reporting, I was not quite ready for how hilariously dodgy and erratic it was. But it reminded me of some names that I want to do more research on. Thelma Todd, for instance.

11) A Reluctant Proposal by Violet Hamilton - Oh, good lord, what a mess. As a series romance novel, I didn't have high expectations but this went beyond a silly plot and tepid characters and into downright objectionable writing techniques. The POV was non-existent... Or rather it was far too much around. It wasn't omniscient. It was just lazy and would go into everyone's heads randomly. Sometimes within the span of paragraphs. But it was a full POV switch. Then there was the lack of chemistry, character development... Oh, this was pure masochism on my part.

12) A Sudden Wild Magic by Diana Wynne Jones - Hm. Not a dud like the previous book but let's just say it took me far too long to get through it. Partially this was a pacing problem; it's never good when all the action seems concentrated in the last 75 pages and it's over 400 total. Mostly, though, I think it was because I couldn't give a damn about any of the characters. In fact, some of them I actively disliked. It was a little hard, really. I usually like DWJ.

9) Highly Charged! by Joanne Rock - It's amazing the number of slightly-cheesy modern romance novels I'm getting through this year. This one was kinda cute and I like the literary side plot because I'm a sucker for books in general and the thought of a writer of erotica and feminist theory left a legacy to a young professor to explore etc. And it was mildly hot. But ultimately it was also forgettable. Though you have to lulz at combining a military bomb-squad guy on enforced leave meeting up with said professor.

10) The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason - I have some mixed feelings on this one and that might be because it took me a couple chapters before I hit on the best way to tackle it. Namely, you read a chapter, set it down, process, then pick it up again. Simply put, it's a series of reputedly lost vignettes from the infamous epic, the Odyssey. One of the more impressive things is how the author manages to seem like multiple writers, aping different styles and POVs for different chapters. Some of the chapters, though, were horribly overwrought. Others... were kind of perfect. Last Islands, for instance, is a perfect way to end the book; Troy turned into something akin to a RenFaire. The Long Way Back is a fantastic look at an alternate Calypso concept. Stone Garden is a heartbreaker, likewise No Man's Wife. Death And The King, pretty and chilling, almost LeFanu horror. A Night in the Woods, ditto but with a touch more Angela Carter, perhaps. Fugitive is full of timey-wimey fascination.

6) Once Upon A Valentine by Stephanie Bond, Leslie Kelly, Michelle Rowen - A surprisingly charming collection of romance shorts based on the concept of "fairy tales" that made for a fast and easy read. All three authors had cute stories and some skill. I might have to look for longer works by them all.

7) A Model Marriage by Jo Ann Ferguson - I suppose the best way to describe this regency romance is... mediocre. Like many others I find, there is potential but things are muddled by too many glitches or mistakes. Like abrupt changes of character. Ummm, devoted sister to OMG NEVER SPEAK TO ME AGAIN SNUB SNUB SNUB? So back to the used book store it goes.

8) Dracula by Bram Stoker - Believe it or not, I have never read this before. For shame. I'm a vampire story lover, after all. I had been warned it was dry but I actually found it to be a smooth, interesting read (once I got the knack of getting through bloody Seward's entries in the right manner and got my eye used to the stilted wording of Van Helsing). I'm really glad I read it and now I'll probably have to get my own copy for future use. Though it did give me bizarre head theories and hilarity as I finished it late into the night...

( Cut for my strange mind and spoilers )

4) Mrs. Pollifax On The China Station by Dorothy Gilman - Pretty standard Mrs Pollifax. Charming, pretty straight-forward, but with a very rushed climax and denouement. I do enjoy these books but I kind of lean more and more towards just keeping the very first one and unloading the others.

5) Loki: Nine Naughty Tales of the Trickster by Mike Vasich - ... I'm rather glad that I did not pay actual money for this. A series of some of the better known Loki-centric tales but suffering under the flag of Trying Too Hard (and some poor beta-reading). Parts of it were clever and some of the hints of depth given to Loki were intriguing but, over all, not brilliant. Though there was a fairly almost-clever bit of conceit at the end.

Tomorrow there will be gym and all sorts of adult, mature things... Like taking down the Christmas tree. Don't judge, okay? Everything else is down! Just, um... I haven't gotten around to that yet. At least I haven't been lighting it.

3) Red Sonja #6: Star of Doom by David C Smith and Richard L Tierney - Pure 1980's Sword and Sorcery time here, people. I didn't even know there was a series of novels devoted to Red Sonja and it's blessedly not an adaptation of that dubiously amusing Brigitte Nielsen/Arnold Schwarzenegger B movie (which I own and I'm not ashamed to take pleasure in). Anyway, it was a fun read and full of nostalgia for me. Red Sonja, after all, was one of my very first comic books. Apparently, too, this is the last of the series so now I kind of really want to read the others.

... Even if it's not at all high quality stuff. Hey, it's fun and that sort of wonderful cheese that so marked S&S B-movies.

1) The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired by Francine Prose - Good overview, interesting choice of ladies, attention-inspiring summaries. I definitely want to find out more about Lee Miller, Lizzie Siddal, and Hester Thrale. I'm glad I picked this up on impulse at the DeYoung Museum after being rushed through the Lee Miller/Man Ray exhibit... Though, wow, sometimes people are real assholes to other people just trying to help.

2) Blazing Bedtime Stories: Volume VII by Rhonda Nelson and Tawny Weber - Kinda ridiculous in that romance novel way, reminds me why I mostly stick to Regencies. The first story was kinda cute (if really freaking fast) and I would have read a longer version of it, for sure. The second story... There are no words for the banality of it. It was the worst things about PWP but with an attempt at a plot. A dognapping plot, no less. No words, people, no words. Off to the used book store for you, book.

As most of you know, I'm not very good at introspection at all. In fact, I have proven to be adept at snake-slithering and twisting out of any well-meaning lines of questions that try to pin me down to doing it. Mind you, I didn't say my efforts were graceful; I usually get called on it but smile and move on. But one of my goals this year is to think a bit more - both in content and clarity - and this is as good a place as any to write it down so I hold myself to it.

If others know I'm doing something, I tend to be a bit more responsible about it. Besides... I really dig lists. I love lists. Lists are so much fun. It's a wonder that I don't have colored tabs and notebooks and extraneous list-making supplies... But, no, my lists appear on any scrap of paper available with very little flash or dazzle. I'm a boring (if bizarre and compulsive) list-maker.

So I'm stealing the quite brilliant method of list-making from Fyre. ( Shamelessly )