Wednesday Reading Meme
What are you currently reading
To Taste Temptation by Elizabeth Hoyt. Romance novel set in the 1760s. I've only read a chapter, so no real comments yet, save that I enjoyed the heroine sighing over how intelligent men were difficult to manage.
What did you recently finish reading?
Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong: This is the last book in the "Women of the Otherworld" series, though I still have a couple other books in the series to read. Like the two previous books in the series, this one focused on Savannah, and followed up on the plot from the last book about a group of paranormals who want to expose the existence of paranormals to the rest of the world. Because it's the last book in the series (though Armstrong deliberately leaves things open for more books if she decides to return, but without actually leaving things dangling) it's a bit overcrowded as Armstrong tries to touch in with as many characters as possible and wrap up their plotlines while giving the book its own plot, but she pulls it together pretty well. Overall, I liked the book a whole lot, but was most fond of the first third of the book, and could have read that setup for Eve and Savannah endlessly, even though I knew it wouldn't be a permanent status quo.
Side note: So, according to Armstrong's introduction, her fans wanted the series to be all werewolves, all the time, and didn't like Paige a lot, and complained when the third book in the series was about her. Apparently, most of her fans are anti-me when it comes to the books, as I've liked all the non-werewolf books a whole whole lot, and the werewolf books range from DNF to "liked it, but not as much as the others" for me. (Though I am glad that her response wasn't to do all werewolves, all the time, but to keep exploring other parts of her world while onyl switching back to the werewolves every few books.)
Taiyou no Ichiwaru by Souryo Fuyumi. A single-volume Josei manga collecting several short stories, largely focusing on women and how they're perceived, or force themselves to conform to expectations. I enjoyed it a lot, but don't really have any comments on the invidicual stories.
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan. Set in an AU 19th century, this is the memoir of the early days of an elderly woman who is the world's premier dragon naturalist. Travels and adventures and dragon anatomy galore. I enjoyed it a lot, but more for the older Lady Trent's commentary and sidebars than for the young Lady Trent's adventures. I did enjoy those, but spent a lot of the book wishing I was a few decades down the timeline. Possibly the start of a series? It's obviously open for sequels, but also stands well on its own.
Did not finish:
The Roman's Virgin Mistress by Michelle Styles. Set in 1st century Italy, everyone is vacationing in Baiae to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. Our Hero is summoned by his aunt to stop his cousin from pursuing a shameless and scandalous woman. Our Heroine is said shameless and scandalous woman, who actually has no interest at all in marrying the cousin, and whose scandal is largely based around her uncle's parties having lots of gambling and their being in debt because of his own gambling. Our Heroine intends to inform Our Hero that his nephew is safe, until he offers to buy her off, with a large enough bribe to settle all her uncle's debt. morally outraged, she announces that she intends to marry the nephew for his money. Except, you know, she doesn't. if you're going "wait, that sounds like..." then yes, it really is Heyer's "Faro's Daughter" with the serial numbers filed off and dumped in another time period (and all the tropes and cliches and conflict are VERY Regency Romance) and without the humor. I was going to stick with it just to see if this heroine also abducted the hero and tied him up in the basement, but then we got to "I'll save your uncle from execution if you'll be my mistress, have sex with me now to prove you mean it" about halfway through, and I decided that this wasn't worth taking one for the team for.
What do you think you'll read next?
I got a bunch of books from the library that I saw but could not get due to finances at WisCon, mostly nonfiction, but also Marie Robinette Kowalski's books. I also have the Kelley Armstrong books I haven't read yet, and the last "Artemis Fowl" book, and I'll probably do library books before I read something that I don't have to give back soon
To Taste Temptation by Elizabeth Hoyt. Romance novel set in the 1760s. I've only read a chapter, so no real comments yet, save that I enjoyed the heroine sighing over how intelligent men were difficult to manage.
What did you recently finish reading?
Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong: This is the last book in the "Women of the Otherworld" series, though I still have a couple other books in the series to read. Like the two previous books in the series, this one focused on Savannah, and followed up on the plot from the last book about a group of paranormals who want to expose the existence of paranormals to the rest of the world. Because it's the last book in the series (though Armstrong deliberately leaves things open for more books if she decides to return, but without actually leaving things dangling) it's a bit overcrowded as Armstrong tries to touch in with as many characters as possible and wrap up their plotlines while giving the book its own plot, but she pulls it together pretty well. Overall, I liked the book a whole lot, but was most fond of the first third of the book, and could have read that setup for Eve and Savannah endlessly, even though I knew it wouldn't be a permanent status quo.
Side note: So, according to Armstrong's introduction, her fans wanted the series to be all werewolves, all the time, and didn't like Paige a lot, and complained when the third book in the series was about her. Apparently, most of her fans are anti-me when it comes to the books, as I've liked all the non-werewolf books a whole whole lot, and the werewolf books range from DNF to "liked it, but not as much as the others" for me. (Though I am glad that her response wasn't to do all werewolves, all the time, but to keep exploring other parts of her world while onyl switching back to the werewolves every few books.)
Taiyou no Ichiwaru by Souryo Fuyumi. A single-volume Josei manga collecting several short stories, largely focusing on women and how they're perceived, or force themselves to conform to expectations. I enjoyed it a lot, but don't really have any comments on the invidicual stories.
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan. Set in an AU 19th century, this is the memoir of the early days of an elderly woman who is the world's premier dragon naturalist. Travels and adventures and dragon anatomy galore. I enjoyed it a lot, but more for the older Lady Trent's commentary and sidebars than for the young Lady Trent's adventures. I did enjoy those, but spent a lot of the book wishing I was a few decades down the timeline. Possibly the start of a series? It's obviously open for sequels, but also stands well on its own.
Did not finish:
The Roman's Virgin Mistress by Michelle Styles. Set in 1st century Italy, everyone is vacationing in Baiae to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. Our Hero is summoned by his aunt to stop his cousin from pursuing a shameless and scandalous woman. Our Heroine is said shameless and scandalous woman, who actually has no interest at all in marrying the cousin, and whose scandal is largely based around her uncle's parties having lots of gambling and their being in debt because of his own gambling. Our Heroine intends to inform Our Hero that his nephew is safe, until he offers to buy her off, with a large enough bribe to settle all her uncle's debt. morally outraged, she announces that she intends to marry the nephew for his money. Except, you know, she doesn't. if you're going "wait, that sounds like..." then yes, it really is Heyer's "Faro's Daughter" with the serial numbers filed off and dumped in another time period (and all the tropes and cliches and conflict are VERY Regency Romance) and without the humor. I was going to stick with it just to see if this heroine also abducted the hero and tied him up in the basement, but then we got to "I'll save your uncle from execution if you'll be my mistress, have sex with me now to prove you mean it" about halfway through, and I decided that this wasn't worth taking one for the team for.
What do you think you'll read next?
I got a bunch of books from the library that I saw but could not get due to finances at WisCon, mostly nonfiction, but also Marie Robinette Kowalski's books. I also have the Kelley Armstrong books I haven't read yet, and the last "Artemis Fowl" book, and I'll probably do library books before I read something that I don't have to give back soon