Aguirre, Ann: Shady Lady
Shady Lady (2011)
Written by: Ann Aguirre
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 325 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book Three (Corine Solomon)
Why I Read It: I've been a fan of Aguirre's since her debut, and while I prefer her SF series to her urban fantasy one, her urban fantasy definitely has a lot of great things going for it, stuff you don't see very often in this genre, which always makes for a fun time. It's a no-brainer that I'd pick up the latest installment, and since the timing felt right to read it, I did.
The premise: ganked from BN.com: Whenever Corine Solomon touches an object, she immediately knows its history. But her own future concerns her more and more. Now back in Mexico, she’s running her pawnshop and trying to get a handle on her strange new powers, for she might need them. And soon.
Then former ally Kel Ferguson walks through her door. Heavily muscled and tattooed, Kel looks like a convict but calls himself a holy warrior. This time, he carries a warning for Corine: the Montoya cartel is coming for her-but they don’t just pack automatic weapons. The Montoyas use warlocks, shamans, voodoo priests-anything to terminate trouble. And Corine has become enemy number one. . .
Spoilers, yay or nay?: YAY. Please do not read if you've not read the book and plan to, because some major stuff happens that you really don't want to be spoiled for. I promise, you won't want to be spoiled. Instead, skip to "My Rating" and you'll be just fine!
I was surprised by how little I was engaged in this book, at least from the start. I find it interesting that of the three books so far, the ones that start in Corine's pawn shop are the ones that take me longer to warm up to (and for those keeping count, it's two out of three that do this). Not sure why, but the beginning was a little off-kilter for me. There was no easing back into Corine's world: she finds a package on her porch, opens it, and is about to pull a particular item out when Kel, way back from Blue Diablo, comes in with a warning: he's been sent to protect her, and what she's about to touch will kill her.
Now, there's nothing wrong with getting right into the action and starting the book at a breakneck pace. Here, it just doesn't work. Maybe it's because we didn't see Kel at all in Hell Fire, and so I needed more time to get used to him, whereas Corine takes what he says at face value and off they go. It's been a while since I read Blue Diablo, so I guess that was an issue for me: I don't really remember how Corine felt about Kel the last time they met, and while I remembered him, I didn't remember him in such a way that I glommed on to him as soon as he stepped on the page. It took me a while to put the pieces of my memory together, yet I was still having to keep up with the story on the page.
But I seem to have that problem with Aguirre, at least in her urban fantasy: I'm constantly forgetting and constantly having to catch up, and I don't know if that's my fault, the author's, or some mix of both. It could very well just be me.
Yet, a good start of the book felt like a lot of reacting: Corine's running all over the place, and things just sort of happen. Rather than a plot unfolding organically, it's more of a "one-damn-thing-after-another" feel of the story, and it's not until Corine goes on her treasure hunt with Kel that I really feel grounded in the story, in what's happening and why.
As far as romance goes, I need to admit I'm torn: I think I've said before I'm a big fan of Corine and Chance, and I like how difficult Aguirre has made it for them to be together. And while I didn't mind the sparks flying between Kel and Corine (nor did I mind the time they spent together), there's a tiny part of me that's disappointed that here's another man in Corine's universe who can't help but find her attractive. The exception seems to be Chuch, but he's married with eyes only for his wife, which means it's not a fair exception. Jesse, of course, is head over heels, but I've never really been fond of him, despite understanding Corine's desire to have a normal life and everything that entails. Even her decision to really be with him was understandable, but like Corine, it's not like my heart pounds for the guy, nor does it pound for the future they could have.
But oddly, I was a little disappointed in Chance's brief appearance at the end and what it seems to signify. Maybe that's because Chance really isn't part of this story, so in some ways, it feels tacked on and I haven't gotten a chance (ha!) to remember why I love this couple together, you know? The end feels like a set-up for the next book, because you know NOTHING is going to be easy when it comes to Corine and Chance, and I do look forward to seeing where that goes. Yet, it was a bit awkward.
Still, there are some great things in this novel: I love Corine's friendship with Shannon and their plans for the future. I loved how Shannon was also a very capable female lead in this series who does what she does and makes no apologies. I liked watching Corine's arc, watching her come to terms with her inherited magic, watching how she really has no control over it. I do rather miss her original talent, which made touching objects a VERY big deal, a decision that had to be weighed carefully every time. That part's still there, kind of, but not in the same capacity.
I'm a little torn, however, on Corine's heritage, how she's apparently descended from King Solomon himself. For starters, it means Corine's got access to some serious power that she's never had before (which means with each book, she's getting more and more powerful, and I'm not sure I want to see her do that), but worse, I smacked my head when I realized that Corine's surname is, indeed, Solomon, and I'm sorry, I just have a hard time believing that surname would STILL be in the family after all that time. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there's surnames that can be traced VERY far back, and obviously, Solomon is a common last name, but maybe the latter is why I groaned: it's so common that it stretches my credulity to believe she's really descended from the great King Solomon himself. Not that I doubt it: not after her initial display of power, but really, I don't doubt it because why give the heroine that last name if it ISN'T true, you know?
We'll see how it develops. Despite my grumbling of Corine becoming an all too powerful character (with great power should come great consequence, which I'll get to in a second), I do really like this element of naming and binding. It's quite appealing.
Consequences: damn, if Aguirre didn't pull a fast one: Corine may be becoming more powerful, but she doesn't have a handle on her power yet: she doesn't know things that a properly trained witch should know, and it means her spells have more power behind them than necessary. Despite not being a fan of Jesse, I was shocked when Corine learned that her "forget me" spell was so powerful: that Jesse didn't remember that she even existed, and even worse, Shannon didn't either! I love this twist, even though I question how either of those characters will answer the Corine-sized hole in their lives, especially Shannon (who does she think got her out of Kilmer? Who's she been living with since?). Not everything is bad, of course: we get that moment of hope at the end with Chuch and Eva have their baby: they weren't hit with the spell, thank god. And Corine still has Butch, who's developed some handy tricks that I just adore. There never be such a thing as too much Butch, and I'm super glad that little awesome chihuahua's still in the picture!
Though, I do need to say: I'm not sure what to make of the religious overtones and themes in the book. Sometimes it worked, other times, it felt forced. Not preachy, but awkward. Corine's concern about the state of her soul jarred me, if only because we're not used to seeing urban fantasy heroines be quite so concerned for the actions they have to take. So maybe that's why it's jarring. We'll see how it develops.
My Rating: Worth Reading, with Reservations: It took a lot longer than I'd like for me to really sink my teeth into this particular installment (the first half of the book seems to be reacting to a lot of random things, whereas the second half of the book is more proactive), but once I did, it became a very fast read. There are quite a few surprises in store in this volume. Some are awesome, some are awkward, some are heartbreaking, and some I worry about. In some ways, I feel like this book is a transition between major stories: we wrapped up most of the lose ends from Blue Diablo and Hell Fire, while setting up for future novels on a variety of levels. I really like Corine as a heroine, and the cast is enjoyable here too, especially little Butch. There are some things I worry about in the direction this series is taking, but Aguirre knows how to pack a punch, and I look forward to getting the next book in the series, Devil's Punch, which will be released in April of 2012.
Random: if you turn to the very first page of this book, where they're quoting reviews for Hell Fire, you'll find a quote from me! No, I had no idea I would be quoted in this book, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, especially since Hell Fire is my favorite in the series to date!
Cover Commentary: I've never been wholly fond of the covers in this series, but this is my least favorite. They've changed the model, and I don't know if it's the pose of the model herself, but I just don't like her as Corine. Of course, the previous model didn't resemble Corine either, in terms of how she's described in the book, but I like this one much, much less. :-/ At any rate, the purple's nice and the cover does stand out thanks to the way the colors are used (and of course, the starkness of the font), but overall, meh.
Next up: The Hidden Goddess by M.K. Hobson