Sirens 2013 reading: January
Fair warning: I waited way too long to write these up, so I don’t know that these are going to be very coherent.
R.J. Anderson, Ultraviolet, Quicksilver: amazing. I really can’t say anything about the plot without being spoilerific (and do not read a plot synopsis for the second book if you haven’t read the first!), but I will say that they’re gorgeously written, intricately plotted, and really well characterized. The handling of Alison’s synesthesia and life in a mental institute for teens is outstanding.
Ilona Andrews, Magic Bites, Magic Burns: fun and fluffy without being too fluffy, if you know what I mean. The heroine is kick-ass and (so far) not over-powered. I have a feeling I’m going to get a little tired of Curran, though, and all the alpha-maleness. I thought the second book was an improvement on the first and will willingly read the next.
Lauren Beukes, Zoo City: I really liked the worldbuilding and the voice, but I felt the plot didn’t hang together completely and the ending was rushed (and the heroine lacked agency in the ending).
Franny Billingsley, Chime: I loved this immediately: Briony has an excellently done, quirky voice, and her process of healing and self-acceptance is very well done. I did figure out faster than she did what was up with her stepmother, but I think Billingsley probably intended that (and it wasn’t so far in advance that I thought Briony was dumb not to have figured it out sooner).
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R.J. Anderson, Ultraviolet, Quicksilver: amazing. I really can’t say anything about the plot without being spoilerific (and do not read a plot synopsis for the second book if you haven’t read the first!), but I will say that they’re gorgeously written, intricately plotted, and really well characterized. The handling of Alison’s synesthesia and life in a mental institute for teens is outstanding.
Ilona Andrews, Magic Bites, Magic Burns: fun and fluffy without being too fluffy, if you know what I mean. The heroine is kick-ass and (so far) not over-powered. I have a feeling I’m going to get a little tired of Curran, though, and all the alpha-maleness. I thought the second book was an improvement on the first and will willingly read the next.
Lauren Beukes, Zoo City: I really liked the worldbuilding and the voice, but I felt the plot didn’t hang together completely and the ending was rushed (and the heroine lacked agency in the ending).
Franny Billingsley, Chime: I loved this immediately: Briony has an excellently done, quirky voice, and her process of healing and self-acceptance is very well done. I did figure out faster than she did what was up with her stepmother, but I think Billingsley probably intended that (and it wasn’t so far in advance that I thought Briony was dumb not to have figured it out sooner).
This entry was originally posted at http://gwyneira.dreamwidth.org/220979.html. There are
comments on that post. Please comment here or there, your choice.