QB's February 2010 Quickies

"So, read any good books lately?"
"What did you think of...?"

Here's my Quickie Reviews to answer to those questions. Click on the Links for more info.

The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley

Highland Pleasures, book 1

Category: Lava Cake - reads like warm Chocolate Lava Cake... à la Mode... sprinkled with nuts (A,A-)

Flame Height: 5.5" out of 9"

In our times, Ian would probably have been diagnosed as autistic as a child. But in the Victorian era, his father had him locked away in a brutal asylum. After inheriting the ducal seat upon their father's death, Ian's oldest brother demanded and received his release from the asylum. With his brothers' help, Ian then had to learn how to mimic "normal" human interaction without understanding or feeling it himself.

Look, I'll make my thoughts short and sweet on the story that unfolds-- loved Ian, loved Beth, loved Ian's family. Marvelously, beautifully unique story and characters.
Piquant Opines: KristieJ, Tracy, Karen Scott, Jill D, Dear Author-Janet, RT

Beyond the Night by Joss Ware

Awakening Heroes, book 1

Category: Peanut M&Ms - mmmm...devour... sigh... then reach for the next one. My daily dose of Insanity-B-Gone. (A-,B+,B)

Flame Height: 5" out of 9"

I normally wouldn't give a second glance to a post-apocalypti​c SF romance- they are usually too bleak, depressing and hopeless- but I read somewhere that Joss Ware is another pen name for Colleen Gleason. Talk about extremes! From the Gardella Vampire Chronicles (aka Buffy Does Regency), to post-apocalypti​c SF? I was intrigued. And you know what? I couldn't put it down! I've already bought the next book in the series.

A group of men go caving near Sedona Arizona in 2011. Something happens, and when they dig their way out, it's fifty years later, the world as they knew it has been destroyed, and they seem to have some special powers.

Besides the romance between one of these men, Dr. Elliott Drake, and one of the descendents of survivors, Jade, this book introduces us to a mysterious race of immortal beings and their zombie-like slaves. Did the Strangers have something to do with the destruction of civilization? Who or what are they? We DO find out in this first book, and I've got to say that I never saw THAT one coming! Can't wait to find out what's up with the blondes.

The hairs on the back of Joss Ware's neck should be permanently raised considering the cataclysmic events happening in spots around the world right now that eerily echo the events that happened in her 2011 reality.
Piquant Opines: Book Binge-Casee, Book Binge-Judith, Katiebabs-Kati, Stacy, RT

Queene of Light by Jennifer Armintrout

Lightworld/Dar​kworld, book 1

Category: Dark Chocolate - loved by some, just "meh" to me (C-,D+)

Flame Height: 2" out of 9"

This dark fantasy story SHOULD have worked, but it just felt too disjointed. I never figured out the difference between those in the Lightworld and those in the Darkworld- they ALL lived underground in dark, nasty subway tunnels. And why did they all hate each other? I never understood what kind of being Malachi (the male lead) was before he transformed into a... something (dunno what)... after touching Ayla. I didn't get how they went from mortal enemies to being, after a couple of brief encounters, twooly in luv and willing to give up everything for each other. I found it odd that poor, down-trodden, depressing Ayla suddenly decided she wanted to be Queen.

I REALLY couldn't understand, and REALLY found it odd that I slogged my way through this entire book hoping it would eventually make sense and get better.
Piquant Opines: RBTB-Amy, Feathered Quill, Night Owl, RT

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Th-th-that's all folks! Three, count 'em, THREE, whole books for the month of February. No, really, you may rise... It's truly not necessary to bow down in the face of my awesome book reading prowess.



Have you read any of these books? Feel free to review or link to a review in the comments. Even if you don't agree!

QB's January 2010 Quickies, Part II

"So, read any good books lately?"
"What did you think of...?"

Here's my Quickie Reviews to answer to those questions. Click on the Links for more info.

Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughn

Kitty Norville Book 7

See INDEX for previous books.

Category: Lava Cake - reads like warm Chocolate Lava Cake... à la Mode... sprinkled with nuts (A,A-)

Flame Height: 2" out of 9"

Talk radio host and werewolf Kitty agrees to participate in a reality show along with other shapeshifters, vampires, and psychics. Filming in an isolated location starts off pretty much as Kitty anticipated, but then things suddenly start to go alarmingly wrong. The participants are being hunted. Some die.

The best Kitty 2.0 story yet (Kitty Takes a Holiday is still my favorite Kitty 1.0, or pre-alpha, story). If you read this without reading the previous Kitty books, you probably won't quite understand why I enjoyed this so much more than many other Urban Fantasies.
Piquant Opines: Fresh Fiction, Nights and Weekends, RT

The Magic Knot by Helen Scott Taylor

Magic Knot series Book 1

The Phoenix Charm

Magic Knot series Book 2

Category: Peanut M&Ms - mmmm...devour... sigh... then reach for the next one. My daily dose of Insanity-B-Gone. (A-,B+,B)
Flame Height: 5.8" out of 9"

This fantasy romance series caught my attention with the recent release of book 2. So being the OCD Reader that I am, I bought book 1, which won the American Title IV contest.

I'm SO glad I did! Set in present day Cornwall with side trips to Ireland and Wales, some of the fae live secretly among humans, while others still live within the faery realms. You know, I'm pretty sure Taylor has even found a way to enchant the ink in these magical stories. There has to be some geis at work because, once the covers are opened, it's impossible to close them until the final page is read. And before I closed the cover on book 1, I was ordering book 2 from Amazon (Yeah for 2-day Prime!).

Just when I was sure I knew what happened next-- because I could see THOSE romance tropes coming from a mile away-- damned if Taylor didn't make a sharp turn nearly every time and gleefully skip away from the expected. (Spoiler hint: not all heroes have magic peens, and troo lurve doesn't always save the day- nor does it keep heroines from admiring other bits of sweet beefcake mancandy!)

This series may end up in my Lava Cake category eventually. There's still a few unanswered questions that kind of puzzled me. Some may be answered when/if Nightshade gets his own book (pretty please?). But I'm afraid that the mystery of how Rose's mother managed to escape with all the things she escaped with (can't say more) will remain unsolved for the reader. And why didn't Michael and Niall's father bother telling either of them the truths about themselves? Of course we may find out more about him someday in HIS own book, too. Oh, and I was disappointed that we never heard from Niall and Rose (from book 1) throughout the entire 2nd book. Considering what they left behind under Michael and Cordelia's care, I just didn't find it plausible that they wouldn't be checking in or rushing back.

But you know what? Set those questions aside for right now. Just sit back and enjoy taking the fun, magical ride that is The Magic Knot series.
Piquant Opines: The Book Smugglers, RT, RT, TRS

Call of the Highland Moon by Kendra Leigh Castle

The MacInnes Werewolves Trilogy, book 1

Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)

Flame Height: 5" out of 9"

Contemporary Highland werewolf Gideon MacInnes goes for a walkabout in America before he settles down to become his pack's Alpha. When injured, his wolfie senses lead him to his mate, Carly Silver, an American who owns a Romance bookstore. A light, entertaining read. Kind of fell apart a bit at the end. I'm disappointed that the next books in the series don't pair up Gideon's hound-dawg (har) brother and Carly's spunky best friend. They were both almost more interesting than the lead characters.

Piquant Opines: KristieJ, Ruthie (warning: auto-music), Bitten By Books

Shadowfae by Erica Hayes

The Chronicles, book 1

Category: Coconut Truffles - SO not for me! (D,D-,F)

Flame Height: 1" out of 9"

Most of my DNFs (Did Not Finish) books are the result of setting books down and intending to pick them back up, but losing interest and never getting around to finishing them (unfortunately, there's been a LOT of those lately). Not so with Shadowfae. I literally FORCED myself to give this book a chance since I had been eagerly looking forward to it and had even placed it on my Insatiable Lusts Wish List! The blurb sounded soo good. But by the end of Chapter 8, I honestly said out loud, "Enough of THIS! I've wasted enough of my time on it."

I knew this was going to be a difficult read fairly early in the book. The lead character, Jade, is written in 1st person past tense. Then, for no apparent reason, Hayes writes all the other characters in 3rd person PRESENT tense. Now I'm not a big fan of present tense anyway, but it can be used quite effectively to convey a sense of menace- think of a Linda Howard villian's POV. But all Shadowfae's tense shifting accomplished was jolting me right out of the book.

Add in a whole lot of drooling blood, poison spit swapping, and other gross-outs; then consider the fact that none of the characters or their lives were particularly likeable, and this story was just flat-out not my cuppa. It might work for someone else, but just pushed too many of my "Do Not Want" buttons.
Piquant Opines: KatieBabs, SciFiGuy, NOR, RT,


Have you read any of these books? Feel free to review or link to a review in the comments. Even if you don't agree!

Grrr, what is wrong with Google Reader? My first searches for Piquant Opines always start there. But for some reason searching ALL subscriptions doesn't always work. For instance, when I searched on "The Magic Knot", there were no review hits (just mentions and contests) within my subscriptions. Yet Helen Scott Taylor's website mentions a review by The Book Smugglers. Sure enough, when I searched ONLY their feed, the review came up, but it SHOULD have hit when I searched ALL FEEDS. So, if I missed linking to someone, please let me know.

QB's January 2010 Quickies, Part I

"So, read any good books lately?"
"What did you think of...?"

Here's my Quickie Reviews to answer to those questions. Click on the Links for more info.

A Love For All Time by Bertrice Small
Sky O'Malley series, book 3

Category: Lava Cake - reads like warm Chocolate Lava Cake... à la Mode... sprinkled with nuts (A,A-)
Flame Height: 6" out of 9"

For years, this 3rd book in The O'Malley Saga (copyright 1986, but I've seen references to a 1981 release date) was unavailable except for expensive used copies. So you might imagine how thrilled I was to FINALLY complete my set with this reprint.

This one is about Skye's youngest brother, Conn, a charming Irishman considered to be "the handsomest man at court" and a particular favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. After he causes one too many scandals, Queen Bess marries him off to one of her wards, the relatively plain-faced heiress Aiden St. Michael.

The story that unfolds is vintage Small (yes, kidnapping and harems are involved). The only reason this one isn't Crème Brûlée like the rest of the series, is because, since the male lead is Skye's brother, we know going into it that he won't meet an unexpected early death. LOL, yeah, sounds bloodthirsty, but one of the myriad reasons I love Ms. Small so much is that I never know which man will be the ultimate survivor who wins the HEA with the heroine.
Piquant Opines: shira.net, AAR, allreaders

Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast

Dark Magick series, book 1

Category: Peanut M&Ms - mmmm...devour... sigh... then reach for the next one. My daily dose of Insanity-B-Gone. (A-,B+,B)

Flame Height: 5" out of 9"

Wicked Enchantment definitely lands solidly in the ROMANCE genre, but its DARK FANTASY elements are what attracted me to it. Back in the 1600's, the fae were decimated by Watt Syndrome, an illness that may or may not have been magically created by a race of druids known as the Phaendir. Taking advantage of the fae's weakened state, the Phaendir teamed up with humans to hunt down and imprison the remaining fae within a magical warding. This warded zone, Piefferburg, is still in existence today; its warding maintained by a sort of collective hive of magic within the Phaendir. Through Phaendir-guarded trade with humans, the high ranking fae are now fairly wealthy, but nonetheless remain prisoners within this area around the North Carolina Outer Banks. On a humorous note, how hilariously appropriate is it that the humans would have a camera crew inside the Seelie court filming a 24 hour a day reality show called FAEMOUS?

That's the basic background of the world building. Apparently the series will delve into a quest to find the elements needed to break the Phaendir's warding of Piefferburg and be a free race again. In this book, one of the pieces had already been found which, as I recently found out, is Bella and Ronan's story, a novella-length prequel in the Hot for the Holidays anthology (I've since bought it but haven't read it yet). During the course of Wicked Enchantment we find out another crucial element has been in the possession of Aislinn, who had no idea what it was.

In addition to a fresh take on fae myths and unique world building, this book centers on Aislinn, who is a high ranking member of the Seelie court, and Gabriel, an important member of the Unseelie court, and his attempts to persuade her over to "the dark side". Lots of twists, turns and surprises made this a very engrossing, fast-paced read.

Having said all that, I personally would have preferred a bit more of an in-depth/extended look into the fae politics, but that's just my personal preference. However, I have to give Bast extra credit for just how much detail and imagination she was able to include within the framework of a romance (as opposed to an urban/dark fantasy).

I would say that if you enjoy Richele Mead's DARK SWAN series, Laurell Hamilton's MERRY GENTRY series, or the later books in Karen Marie Moning's HIGHLANDERS series, then Anya Bast's DARK MAGICK series might just be the new series you've been waiting for.
Piquant Opines: Book Chick City, Literary Escapism, The Book Lush

Unfallen Dead by Mark Del Franco

Conner Grey Book 3

Unperfect Souls

Conner Grey Book 4

See INDEX for previous books.

Category: Peanut M&Ms - mmmm...devour... sigh... then reach for the next one. My daily dose of Insanity-B-Gone. (A-,B+,B)

Flame Height: 2" out of 9"

Del Franco has really hit his stride with this urban fantasy/dark fantasy series as he delves deeper into Fae politics, mysteries, and intrigue.

Now that I've been listening to the audio books of Jim Butcher's Dresden series, I can say that fans of that series will enjoy the Conner Grey series. They have a similar feel and voice, however Del Franco's stories and world building are unique to Conner Grey's world.

Note that book 4 was a January read, but I read book 3 a while back.

P.S to the author: Mark... Dude, ya need to fix your website. Your Conner Grey links are not only not useful (where's the blurbs?), but some of them are fucked up.
Piquant Opines: Green Man Review, RT, Book Fetish, RT, BotM, Jennifer/Goodreads, Goodreads (all)

Fireflies by Ally Blue

Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)

Flame Height: 6" out of 9"

It was the beautiful, ethereal cover by Anne Cain that first drew my attention. For that alone, Fireflies was worth the price of a print copy. But Joey and Braeden's story, while not quite as substantial as I would have liked, was a lovely time spent within a charming faery tale.

Piquant Opines: Jessewave, Uniquely Pleasurable, Mrs. Giggles

Have you read any of these books? Feel free to review or link to a review in the comments. Even if you don't agree!

A Few of My Favorite Things

No raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, just a few things that have given me Teh Happy lately:

Ann Aguirre - Blue Diablo, Corine Solomon book 1

Category: Lava Cake - reads like warm Chocolate Lava Cake... à la Mode... sprinkled with nuts (A,A-)
Flame Height: 3.5" out of 9"

Today is the offical release date for Ann Aguirre's Blue Diablo. Yes, I read the eArc, but this one's a keeper and I'll be buying the print too.

In case you haven't seen it yet, head over to Ann Aguirre's site to download her April newsletter (or you can join her Google group to read it). Why? Because AztecLady, who creates the newsletter, was apparently crafting with some of Tracy's glue and asked me to contribute a short piece on Urban Fantasy heroines.

Here's the section of that article that pertains specifically to Blue Diablo (quoting myself. heh.):

You know how you’ll often hear a guy referred to as “a man’s man”? Well Corine is “a woman’s woman” that I couldn’t help but identify and empathize with.

Ann has given us a heroine who’s more BFF than avatar. She’ll have your back in a bar fight; but she won’t be bailing you out of jail because she’ll drag your butt out from under the bar and through the window before the cops ever get there. She loves food, drinks, and damns her hips. Corine sometimes has to bite her tongue to hold back inappropriate comments, and sometimes she doesn’t bother to hold back. She gets horny and gets satisfied, whether alone or with someone else—unless she’s denying herself to prove a point. She unabashedly appreciates a nice helping of eye candy. And, oh yeah, she also happens to possess a few paranormal gifts that have kept her on the run most of her life and get her involved with other not-quite-normal characters. Those other characters include her ex-boyfriend, Chance, who’s complicating her life again, but still needs to prove to Corine that he’s not just offering lip service (in more ways than one).

Within just a few moments of meeting Corine I eagerly followed her away from my world and into hers. Is there anything better than feeling reality slip away as you settle into a great book? Blue Diablo reminded me why I love to read, and Corine reminded me why I love to read Ann Aguirre’s characters.

Really, I could go on and on about Ann's new type of Urban Fantasy heroine but that quote pretty much sums up why Blue Diablo really is as nummy as "warm Chocolate Lava Cake... à la Mode... sprinkled with nuts".

Read more about it here. And while you're on Ann's Site, check out her blog's sidebar to see all the stops in her Blue Diablo blog tour- she'll be here on April 20th. She's giving a copy of Blue Diablo away at each stop of the tour!

Piquant Opines: Book Smugglers, Darque Reviews, Rosie, Katiebabs, RT

Have you read this book? Feel free to review or link to a review in the comments. Even if you don't agree!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

American Idol- or more specifically, Adam Lambert (at right in pic) and his opening acts Kris Allen (left), and Allison Iraheta (center). Okay, I'll add Matt Giraud in 4th place, but I think Danny Gokey and Lil Rounds are overrated and not unique enough. Same goes for Anoop Desaii, but I never did get Scott MacIntyre's appeal. Alexis Grace should have been part of my top 4 or 5.

However Adam is the one I wait for each week, the rest just entertain me while I'm waiting to see what he'll do next. The term "gifted" gets thrown around way too often, but this kid truly does possess a gift. What I find hilarious is the non-scandal that occurred when he was "outted" (can you out someone who's already out?). Straight men do NOT sing Cher songs! DUH! Nothing shocking going on here people, move along.

The best way to describe his voice is that he's the luv child that resulted when Steven Tyler, Sam Harris, and Freddy Mercury got together and gang-inseminated a drag queen Liza Minelli impersonator. Yeah, sometimes he's over the top (an Indian influenced Ring of Fire, Adam? Seriously?! Holy Shit, Dude!). But what a gift he has! This kind of singer rarely comes along. And when he reigns it in and keeps complete control of his gift, the results can be unforgettably brilliant (although I'm not too crazy about the Elvis/Dean Cain look instead of his edgier look):

What's odd though is that the iTunes downloadable studio version is overproduced instead of haunting and stripped down like he did it live. My guess is that he was allowed more control over the live version.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Season 3 of The Tudors on Showtime- although it's scheduled rather oddly since the promoted episodes are available On-Demand about a week EARLIER than the promotion date. So, even though the the first episode of season 3 just aired this past Sunday, I've already watched the second episode On-Demand. Go figure.

Anyway, I mentioned before that each episode is like an Oscar-worthy movie, but have I mentioned that I have a complete Cougar Lust Crush on Henry Cavill who plays Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk? Fortunately, his character has only had a loose connection to the real life Duke of Suffolk, so I don't have much advance knowledge of what happens to him in the series. But DAYUM, I could nom him!

nomnomnomnomnom

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I haven't quite decided if this next bit of news gives me Teh Happy or not. Back in November 2008, I posted that IFC (Independent Film Channel) had commissioned Lionsgate to develop a TV pilot based on the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Well, on March 31, 2009, the official announcement was released that the project is on IFC's schedule for Summer 2010. This LKH blog post contains several links to the announcement details. However I'm still trying to wrap my head around this being an IFC project. Yet Lionsgate is no lightweight in the industry, so this could be interesting or a disaster, particularly in light of the following section of the press release (bold WTF-ery emphasis added by me):

“‘Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter’ marks the first time in IFC tv’s history that we have created a fictional feature film for the network. IFC is appealing to its core base of men ages 18-34 who are looking for vampire content. The popularity of the network in this demographic indicates that there is a clear demand for films that delve into provocative topics and nothing is more classically provocative than vampire lore” said Jennifer Caserta, EVP and general manager of IFC tv. “Anita Blake fits perfectly with our successful original programming.”

“Laurell has created a fascinating heroine in Anita Blake and we quickly recognized the onscreen potential for this vivid character,” said Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate’s president of television programming and production. “We have an outstanding creative team and are excited to be moving forward with IFC, which will allow us to fully explore the complex world of Laurell’s highly intriguing and erotically charged novels.”

See what I mean? Are they mixing up the later books with the earlier books and producing one-handed viewing for the ComicCon crowd? BTW, I always thought that vampires were more popular with women.

So will this be entertaining or a clusterfuck... or possibly an entertaining clusterfuck?