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books, books, books: 2016 jul-aug
Honestly, I should take notes as I read. Anyway, I zoomed through a few series over the past couple months.
And then virtual reams and reams of Star Trek AOS fic, which probably totaled a good three or four novels, all said and done. And I'm still there, camped out in my starship families and K/S feels, as my Pinboard can attest to.
- Love for the Cold-Blooded by Alex Gabriel - A longer review pulled from my Imzy review. Sign me right the heck up for a world of superheroes and supervillains trying to get on with their mundane lives amidst all the evil plots and saving of civilians. I will admit the protagonist, Pat, was slightly too bro-y for my personal tastes, but overall he was likeable and had more depth than simply the bro attitude. His relationships with his family -- sisters, father, mother -- were probably the highlight of the book for me, more than the relationship.
I remember Nick, the love interest, as mostly being dark, handsome, and in some ways helplessly naive. (His pizzas, my god.) It's a little harder to get a read on his character as we see him solely from Pat's POV, so he never feels as fully fleshed out as a character as Pat.
Honestly, this was really just a fun, enjoyable romp that reads quickly and takes you along a frankly ridiculous ride. But one you are enjoying! Overall a very tongue-in-cheek and self-aware poke at the superhero genre but with added m/m sex and a lot of affection. Plus, there are unexpectedly sweet moments that gives the story a sense of sincerity. - Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens - So many things I love wrapped up in one series: a boarding school in England, girl friendships, detective agencies and a mystery to solve, and starring a Chinese girl as one of the main protagonists! I couldn't not read this series given how so much of it was relevant to my interests. All that said, it was fun but it was definitely a first book and introduction to the characters and setting. As I reader I was still getting a feel for Hazel and Daisy and their relationship by the end, and that was honestly more important than the mystery. I wasn't sure how much I was liked the series based off this book alone, but the subsequent books really sold me. (One thing this book did do well was address the microaggressions and orientalisms Hazel faced as a Hong Konger/outsider attending a proper English boarding school.)
- There Is A Tide by Agatha Christie - At first I was convinced I'd read this story before but turns out I hadn't...a signature Christie trope of a family-centric murder mystery set in an otherwise idyllic and quiet little village, with suspicions always landing on outsiders. Interesting results and motivations from the characters, many of whom are working at cross purposes. Probably not particularly memorable, though I remember one of the "good" relationships being kind of eyebrow-raising. Maybe "good for each other" doesn't really translate to objectively good.
- A Slip of the Keyboard by Terry Pratchett - A collection of nonfiction essays from Sir Pterry with a few common themes running through them: his passionate defense of fantasy and science fiction, the stories to be told and the worlds to be learned; his memories of people he's encountered at fan signings and just around the world; his desire for dignity in death and pressing for the legalization of assisted suicide. I find I agree with him on a lot of his perspectives, but it was enlightening just to get this glimpse into his worldview. And it makes me miss him, and Discworld. I should reread some Discworld novels sooner rather than later.
- Arsenic for Tea by Robin Stevens - Second of the Wells & Wong mysteries and this really pushed me into liking the characters and their relationship more. Set at Daisy's home, we get a better understanding of her home life and character, and Hazel also makes better peace with their differences and their friendship. Character development is my fave even with mysteries, I guess. But particularly with series, if you aren't invested in the characters, you're unlikely to want to keep going, you know? It's nice that both Daisy and Hazel have their faults and blind spots, and it's nice to see some conflict that isn't solely the murder or their relationship as well.
- Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase - Tripped and fell into Loretta Chase's Dressmakers series and of course I started at the beginning, but I think it's my least favorite. Hard to say because I skipped book 3 out of 4 though... But despite the typical romance framework, this did do some things differently in highlighting how much the protagonist valued her work and skills, her sisters and their business, her daughter, and essentially her life that was her own, separate from the guy. But of course the lust/attraction/spark/whatever between them is too much to resist. Sometimes the desperate sex in romances is actually the least interesting part.
- Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase - This was fun! All the similar struggles in the first one -- she finds him hot, she loves her work, she's (purportedly) working class and he's nobility, etc. But their tension felt more fun or interesting to me and the hero was an interesting take -- very matter of fact about the fact that he's all about brawn, not brains (though of course he's proven to have more depth than that). It's kind of nice to have a hero who isn't meant to be All That and a Bar of Twix in terms of emotional as well as book intelligence on top of his physical perfection.
- First Class Murder by Robin Stevens - I was just trucking my way through these dual series. This was a lovely homage to Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, which even makes a cameo in the book, and we get to spend some time with Hazel's dad instead, and explore his and Hazel's relationship. Always interesting when your murder takes place where the number of suspects is set and in a relatively closed environment.
- Dukes Prefer Blondes by Loretta Chase - Skipped book 3 because I couldn't imagine how it wasn't just yet another retreading of the same conflict in books 1 and 2 (sisters and business and class pitted against noble hot dude), but this was interesting because it flipped the positions! High class Lady Clara and a working lawyer who is really terrible at emotions. The setting and conflict was also subsequently different and therefore more interesting, and they actually got married like halfway through this book, so then the conflict changed shape to be more about the dangers presented by the plot rather than being driven solely by their romantic entanglement. Which was a nice change of pace.
- The Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas - Apparently super iddy but apparently not my id...because I didn't like either hero or heroine and the plot plodded for me. It just wasn't particularly engaging. And mostly they had a lot of sex, so the plot was almost secondary. I mean, really the plot was "he would be celibate to prove that he could be" except then he basically continued to sex her up because of reasons. True love, irresistible attraction, whatever. The most interesting character in this was a kind of racist stereotype of a gypsy and the author teased his relationship with some friend of the heroine as if it would be the next in the series -- and turns out it's not, and that girl gets some boring straightlaced white dude instead. Maybe I hate things without pining or UST. Maybe I just wanted an actual less contrived plot. Maybe I wanted fancy fucking dresses and balls, I don't know. This didn't give me any of that.
- Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens - Finally Daisy and Hazel head back to school and I really enjoyed the setting more this time because we'd gotten on better footing regarding their characters and relationships, plus this story really integrated the other girls at school better. Good friends and annoying girls, I liked this one a lot. Daisy and Hazel have a big dramatic fight which was great for emotional tension and they resolve it in time to resolve their mystery too. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.
- Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare - Another cross-class love story, with the hero being nobility (of course, that's the dream here) and she's a servant who gets swept along what is at first a very cruel almost-prank, but she turns it to her advantage and people aren't as terrible as they seem, except for those who are. I'm not sure this relationship would have ever worked in reality but this is fiction and a regency romance to boot, so let's go with it. Good emotional conflict and angst, and enough attraction and respect between hero and heroine that I was actually rooting for their relationship to work out.
- A Weekend to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare - A lesser version of the above, where the hero has a lot of Past Trauma and the heroine has a lot of Emotional Baggage and feelings of inferiority that are cured by the hero. It was an interesting take because she got to be a scientist and more book smart in a way that isn't just books but about science and the natural world, and for a change she got to be absolutely terrible with feelings. I read this in the midst of a lot of Star Trek feelings so I kept imprinting Jim Kirk on the hero (charming and breezy, secretly angsty and full of self-doubt and seeking purpose in life), even though he was meant to be dark-haired and all all that. Minerva is not quite Spock, anyway. The ending was I guess realistic? But kind of unsatisfying. Any Duchess Will Do did the emotional resonance and relationship better, imo.
And then virtual reams and reams of Star Trek AOS fic, which probably totaled a good three or four novels, all said and done. And I'm still there, camped out in my starship families and K/S feels, as my Pinboard can attest to.
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