Good-bye, 2017!
Remember when I wrote out a list of goals for the year and said I was gonna make a conscious effort to be around more/write more/work on my health/all that jazz? Yeah, me too.
*hangs head*
But hey, let's catch up, yeah?
2017 was a strange year. I moved into the in-law suite at my friend and her husband's house, and for the most part I *do* love it. I did discover that the apartment is just TOO big for me, though. I am not used to having both an office and a living room, so I'm finding that generally the living room just doesn't get used. I bring DVDs to the computer in the office to watch instead of using the TV and sitting on the sofa, etc. So now I'm trying to figure out how to reconfigure the room(s) to make them more user-friendly.
I did find that once I moved, though, I completely lost all motivation. Part of it is the new time constraints that I still haven't acclimatized to. I have to leave my house at a little after 8pm to catch the last bus. That gets me downtown by 9pm but I don't start work until 11pm. So I'm missing out on 2 to 2.5 hours of time at home that I would normally have spent writing/reading & commenting on LJ/playing on landcomms, etc. Still haven't managed to work out an effective work-sleep-play routine.
So I fell down on the job on a lot of things in 2017. My health/weight is worse than ever and I had my worst writing year on record (yeah, I have no idea what my total even was, but I'm pretty sure I didn't crack 50K). I did keep tabs on twitter in the social media arena. In the Finances department, I continued putting whatever coin was in my purse in a money jar every Saturday night -- that netted me $224 from May 01 to December 31 (I had previously cashed in the money jar when I moved) so that was a nice plus. And I made headway on paying down my debit. Slowly but surely, it's happening.
My big win was in the Books Read area. My goal was to read 65 books in 2017. I actually read 100 books in 2017. See, that's what falling down on all your other hobbies will get ya. (I also saw a shit-ton of movies, always fun.)
Anyway, for my own interest I did want to keep track of what I read and a little blurb about each, so if anyone is interested
Books Read in 2017
01 to 12. Masters of the Shadowlands series by Cherise Sinclair
This is actually a series of books based in and around a private BDSM club in the Florida area. Which is something I NEVER thought I'd pick up, but the first book in the series was free at the time so I went for it. Jessica wanders in from a torrential rainstorm and into Z's remote club, so the reader is cleverly taken along for the ride as she gets some beginners lessons in how the lifestyle works. The writing is clever and the people (for the most part) feel real -- I loved that Jessica is not your typical young and svelte book heroine. She is short, chubby, smart, can be sensitive and nervous about her weight but also has a wry sense of humour (I laughed out loud when she struggled to get up onto a barstool and mused internally about looking like a dumpling with feet -- been there, done that, honey.) Each book deals with a different couple as they meet up and usually fall in love. The BDSM stuff can range from light to extremely heavy depending on the book and the couple, and some were more interesting than others, but the storyline of previous couples continues through each book and I was certainly kept on my toes.
13. Venomous by Penelope Fletcher
This one was self-published and could have used some tightening and editing, but I loved the world building and the sassy-without-being-stereotypical heroine who also happened to be a person of colour. She is captured by aliens, saved from death by a male of a reptilian-type race who bonds with her, and then must adapt to his world when they are rescued.
14 to 16. Alpha's Claim trilogy by Addison Cain
These ones are not for the faint of heart. Very strong dub-con. The remnants of Earth's population are separated by caste (alpha, beta, omega) and live in domes that shield them from the poisonous atmosphere. The omegas are few and far between and when prisoners of the Undercroft rise and take the dome, Claire disguises herself and goes to visit their leader, Shepherd, to beg for food for the females. You can guess how well that goes. What sets this apart is that it's really a very intelligent story, as our narrators are revealed to be quite unreliable... belief, after all, is not truth. It also made me cry, made me put the kindle down in anger, and then made me jump up and clap. So there's that.
17 to 19. The Passage / The Twelve / The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
A trilogy that spans 100 years and flips back and forth in time, from the always popular Government Experiment That Goes Horribly Wrong to the survivors dealing with the aftermath that produced vampire-like creatures instead of super-soldiers. An interesting premise and diverse cast of characters, though sometimes it seemed to swerve off course and some threads never got picked up in the process.
20. Black Light: Valentine Roulette by various authors
Takes place in a BDSM club (what? *innocent face*) I actually just picked this up coz Addison Cain had a story in it. And I don't even remember a single of the stories I read.
21 to 36. Ice Planet Barbarians series by Ruby Dixon
Also self-pub, I kind of fell in love with this awkwardly named series. A spacecraft filled with kidnapped Earth women crashed on a remote ice planet. Unfortunately there's a gas in the atmosphere that will kill them within a few weeks. Luckily the buff, blue-skinned and tailed inhabitants of the planet know the cure -- they must get a parasite implanted. This khui helps to protect them from the cold and illness, and it also happens to rumble like a freight train when its near the person you must bond with. The barbarians of the title have absolutely no problem with that. Some of the Earth women needs more convincing. I've got a soft spot for strong, muscular men who are all about the needs of their women. Yes, yes I do.
37. Prison Planet Barbarian by Ruby Dixon
One-off spin-off of the Ice Planet series. Not as fun without the khui.
38. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
OMG. This is so beautifully written. It's told entirely from a dog's point of view, as he goes through several lives being born and then reincarnated, each life teaching him things that he needs to know in the one to follow. I cried twice and bawled like a baby once.
39. Planet X by Evangeline Anderson
Self-pub, and a little silly, but I pretty much adore it because this is basically just Pitch Black / Chronicles of Riddick fanfiction, and the author totally nails the character's voice and mannerisms.
40. Late, Late at Night by Rick Springfield
Autobiography. Never knew Springfield was such a horndog.
41. In The Pleasuregrove: Love, Death and Duran Duran by John Taylor
I just had to laugh at so much of this, especially when Taylor was going on about the intense musicality of Nick Rhodes' plink-plonking keyboards or the depth of Simon LeBon's lyrics. This is the guy who wrote my favourite (because it's so stupid) lyric of all time: "You're about as easy as a nuclear war." Oh my.
42 to 44. Fireblood Dragon series by Ruby Dixon
Dragons are not Ice Planet Barbarians, more's the pity. Harder to get behind the premise coz these guys are responsible for the destruction of the planet -- even though it's sorta-kinda-maybe not their fault. But there's more bonding and sex, so.
45. Escape from Oz by Piers Platt
Oz is a prison planet where the prisoners are left to their own devices (think "Escape From New York"). One man tries to navigate the system. It was pretty forgettable.
46 to 62. Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward
Pretty much love these! The Brotherhood are the elite warrior vampires who protect the civilian class from outside threats. They're big, arrogant, and can be complete asses. They have stupid misspelled named like Phury and Rhage. (WHY THOSE EXTRA H'S, WHYYY) And in each story one of them falls in love and the women are badass and there's a gay couple and an overarching storyline that encompasses them all and OH RHAGE YOU ARE MY FAVOURITE. *ahem*
63. Starlite Rite by Cherise Sinclair
The author of the Shadowlands series. I honestly don't remember this book.
64. The Story of Son by JR Ward
The author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Ditto.
65 to 70. Fallen Angel series by JR Ward
God and the Devil are tired of the never-ending battle for souls and supremacy. They decide to set up a winner-take-all match. One champion with six chances to either lead a wayward soul toward the light or into darkness (though the champion has no idea what the challenges are, and Satan tends to cheat.) Highly enjoyable.
71 to 73. Red Rising series by Pierce Brown
BRILLIANT series about a futuristic society whose members are separated by caste (denoted by a colour ranking) and genetic engineering plus a corrupt ruling class ensure that no one can rise above their station. However, a rebellion is brewing among the Reds. I can't say much without ruining it, but I cannot recommend the series enough. The world building and character growth is astounding. And the fourth book in the series comes out next week EEEEEEE.
74. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Also a great book, this one's about another futuristic society where Earth has simply run out of room and resources for its people, and most of them spend as much time as possible in the Virtual Reality world known as Oasis. The creator of Oasis has died and he's left a complex riddle (based on 1980's era pop culture) within the system. Whoever solves it first inherits his billions and control of the Oasis itself. So of course we've got our average joe's being racing against an evil conglomerate who aren't above murder to win the game. This is going to be a movie in a few months, too.
75. Gone by Michael Grant
Under The Dome meets Logan's Run? All the adults vanish, leaving children 15 and under trapped behind an energy forcefield in a small town. I read this one, but had no interest in continuing the trilogy.
76 to 78. Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness
Oooh, another one I really liked. Society has splintered into tiny remote communities after a war on an alien planet, in the aftermath of which all the males have gained the ability to read minds. Unfortunately this is not like plucking out a single thought -- its a constant deluge of noise that can drive men insane. This is a coming of age story, a road trip story, a story about race relations, and a frightening look at misogyny and abuse all in one.
79. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
LOVED the premise. Each chapter starts off with a quick summary of what the "indie kids" are up to.. these are the kids like BUFFY who *would* be the main characters in any other book. So you get a quick bullet point synopsis filled with the worst Young Adult cliches (falling in love with angsty vampires, zombie cops, mysterious blue lights, blowing up the school) but the main part of the book is about the regular kids who are just trying to deal with homework and zits and being OCD and crushing on your sister's best friend.
80 to 82. Stolen by an Alien / Rescued by an Alien / Won by an Alien by Amanda Milo
Enjoyed the world building and creative idea behind this one, where the ubiquitous kidnapped Earth women resemble a rarified and elite breed of females who are worshipped by their males. Bit of a mix-up when one of the Earthers is then spirited away by a guard. Got a little over the top but I enjoyed the idea.
83. The Corsair's Captive by Ruby Dixon
Not Ice Planet Barbarians.
84 to 93. Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh
Hunters hunt rogue vampires, who are created by angels, who are the highest species (and not religious or holy) on the food chain. They are, however, insanely powerful, usually arrogant, and pretty damn sexy. Elena Devereaux, guild hunter, manages to fall in love with one of the most powerful archangels of the lot. I really enjoyed the idea of how Elena and Raphael's love physically (physiologically?) changes him. As with most series like this, each subsequent novel features a different vampire or angel finding love, while also continuing an overriding story arc. I couldn't put these down, to be honest.
94. The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter
The first of a series called Lords of the Underworld, this is really quite horrifically bad. A telepath seeks out these immortal warriors for help, except these guys are like, really grossly 'bad boys' -- they've each been imprisoned with a plague or sin like Violence, Promiscuity, Disease, etc inside their bodies and must 'do battle' with it nightly, except they usually don't win and you hear that they caused untold years worth of death and destruction, yet somehow they sound like frat boys. Ugh.
95. Dark Planet Warriors by Anna Carven
I think this was another self-pub. I don't remember much of it except that it was another alien-meets-human book.
96. Lauren's Barbarian by Ruby Dixon
This time the barbarians are on a tropical island. IT JUST MIGHT BE TIME TO LET THIS DIE, RUBY.
97. Land of the Beautiful Dead by R. Lee Smith
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh I cannot say enough about this book. It's a self-pub, but it's gorgeous. Azrael, the immortal who has the ability to raise the dead and set them to whatever task he desires, has scoured the Earth and raised his Eaters (zombies). What remains of humankind live in walled encampments in the ruins. Lan goes to the dead city of Haven (London) in order to entreat Azrael to let his Eaters die. That's how the book begins, and it continues for about 800 glorious pages as Lan and Azrael bicker, intrigue each other, have sex, learn some hard truths, and find out that there are reasons behind everything and geeeez, its just like this epic quest and dark love story all in one. And I cannot recommend it highly enough.
98. The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith
So then I read this one, and OH MY WORD. I think I love Beautiful Dead more, but it's a close call. Here we have a pioneering spaceship that crash lands on a remote planet, and its inhabited by lizard people. JUST GO WITH ME ON THIS ONE, OKAY. Because I am telling you, you will LOVE Meoraq, the lizardman who witnesses the aftermath of the crash and sees it as a sign from his God that he must travel to a sacred shrine. Our heroine is Amber, who is the only sensible member of the survivors and who is of course labelled a bitch by the self-appointed leader of the humans because she dares to speak up, and she and Meoraq meet and learn to communicate and fall in love and and and SO MUCH HAPPENS. Nothing is as it seems and there is so much strife (sometimes a little too much on the human side -- I really wanted to kick some of the humans in the teeth and while Amber is awesome and badass, she sometimes made me cringe when she was dealing with her sister or getting dealt yet.another.blow and sometimes it was hard to take)... but honestly everyone should read this coz its pretty damn awesome.
99. Nine Minutes by Beth Flynn
A 15 year old girl gets kidnapped by a biker gang and falls in love with the leader of the pack.. who has super-creepily been tracking her since she was six years old. SIX. Yeah. This is a weird mash-up coz it's like the authors wants to make the gang all 'realistically' bad yet it's like a teen girls swoony version of what a bad boy biker gang would be? And there's so many overwrought plot twists. Not a fan.
100. Transcendence by Shay Savage
This was interesting because it was told entirely from the point of view of a caveman who did not have the ability to learn language. He finds a woman in one of his dugout pits and thinks she must be meant to be his new mate. We can tell that she's from our time but we rarely know what she's actually saying because Ehd cannot understand her. Yet they work together to survive the winter and find happiness together. I was impressed more by the skill it took to tell an entire story from the POV of a man without language and little dialogue than the plot itself.
So at least I smoked ONE of the goals. Onward to 2018, where I truly hope to get back on track. Hope y'all are well, flisties!
.
*hangs head*
But hey, let's catch up, yeah?
2017 was a strange year. I moved into the in-law suite at my friend and her husband's house, and for the most part I *do* love it. I did discover that the apartment is just TOO big for me, though. I am not used to having both an office and a living room, so I'm finding that generally the living room just doesn't get used. I bring DVDs to the computer in the office to watch instead of using the TV and sitting on the sofa, etc. So now I'm trying to figure out how to reconfigure the room(s) to make them more user-friendly.
I did find that once I moved, though, I completely lost all motivation. Part of it is the new time constraints that I still haven't acclimatized to. I have to leave my house at a little after 8pm to catch the last bus. That gets me downtown by 9pm but I don't start work until 11pm. So I'm missing out on 2 to 2.5 hours of time at home that I would normally have spent writing/reading & commenting on LJ/playing on landcomms, etc. Still haven't managed to work out an effective work-sleep-play routine.
So I fell down on the job on a lot of things in 2017. My health/weight is worse than ever and I had my worst writing year on record (yeah, I have no idea what my total even was, but I'm pretty sure I didn't crack 50K). I did keep tabs on twitter in the social media arena. In the Finances department, I continued putting whatever coin was in my purse in a money jar every Saturday night -- that netted me $224 from May 01 to December 31 (I had previously cashed in the money jar when I moved) so that was a nice plus. And I made headway on paying down my debit. Slowly but surely, it's happening.
My big win was in the Books Read area. My goal was to read 65 books in 2017. I actually read 100 books in 2017. See, that's what falling down on all your other hobbies will get ya. (I also saw a shit-ton of movies, always fun.)
Anyway, for my own interest I did want to keep track of what I read and a little blurb about each, so if anyone is interested
Books Read in 2017
01 to 12. Masters of the Shadowlands series by Cherise Sinclair
This is actually a series of books based in and around a private BDSM club in the Florida area. Which is something I NEVER thought I'd pick up, but the first book in the series was free at the time so I went for it. Jessica wanders in from a torrential rainstorm and into Z's remote club, so the reader is cleverly taken along for the ride as she gets some beginners lessons in how the lifestyle works. The writing is clever and the people (for the most part) feel real -- I loved that Jessica is not your typical young and svelte book heroine. She is short, chubby, smart, can be sensitive and nervous about her weight but also has a wry sense of humour (I laughed out loud when she struggled to get up onto a barstool and mused internally about looking like a dumpling with feet -- been there, done that, honey.) Each book deals with a different couple as they meet up and usually fall in love. The BDSM stuff can range from light to extremely heavy depending on the book and the couple, and some were more interesting than others, but the storyline of previous couples continues through each book and I was certainly kept on my toes.
13. Venomous by Penelope Fletcher
This one was self-published and could have used some tightening and editing, but I loved the world building and the sassy-without-being-stereotypical heroine who also happened to be a person of colour. She is captured by aliens, saved from death by a male of a reptilian-type race who bonds with her, and then must adapt to his world when they are rescued.
14 to 16. Alpha's Claim trilogy by Addison Cain
These ones are not for the faint of heart. Very strong dub-con. The remnants of Earth's population are separated by caste (alpha, beta, omega) and live in domes that shield them from the poisonous atmosphere. The omegas are few and far between and when prisoners of the Undercroft rise and take the dome, Claire disguises herself and goes to visit their leader, Shepherd, to beg for food for the females. You can guess how well that goes. What sets this apart is that it's really a very intelligent story, as our narrators are revealed to be quite unreliable... belief, after all, is not truth. It also made me cry, made me put the kindle down in anger, and then made me jump up and clap. So there's that.
17 to 19. The Passage / The Twelve / The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
A trilogy that spans 100 years and flips back and forth in time, from the always popular Government Experiment That Goes Horribly Wrong to the survivors dealing with the aftermath that produced vampire-like creatures instead of super-soldiers. An interesting premise and diverse cast of characters, though sometimes it seemed to swerve off course and some threads never got picked up in the process.
20. Black Light: Valentine Roulette by various authors
Takes place in a BDSM club (what? *innocent face*) I actually just picked this up coz Addison Cain had a story in it. And I don't even remember a single of the stories I read.
21 to 36. Ice Planet Barbarians series by Ruby Dixon
Also self-pub, I kind of fell in love with this awkwardly named series. A spacecraft filled with kidnapped Earth women crashed on a remote ice planet. Unfortunately there's a gas in the atmosphere that will kill them within a few weeks. Luckily the buff, blue-skinned and tailed inhabitants of the planet know the cure -- they must get a parasite implanted. This khui helps to protect them from the cold and illness, and it also happens to rumble like a freight train when its near the person you must bond with. The barbarians of the title have absolutely no problem with that. Some of the Earth women needs more convincing. I've got a soft spot for strong, muscular men who are all about the needs of their women. Yes, yes I do.
37. Prison Planet Barbarian by Ruby Dixon
One-off spin-off of the Ice Planet series. Not as fun without the khui.
38. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
OMG. This is so beautifully written. It's told entirely from a dog's point of view, as he goes through several lives being born and then reincarnated, each life teaching him things that he needs to know in the one to follow. I cried twice and bawled like a baby once.
39. Planet X by Evangeline Anderson
Self-pub, and a little silly, but I pretty much adore it because this is basically just Pitch Black / Chronicles of Riddick fanfiction, and the author totally nails the character's voice and mannerisms.
40. Late, Late at Night by Rick Springfield
Autobiography. Never knew Springfield was such a horndog.
41. In The Pleasuregrove: Love, Death and Duran Duran by John Taylor
I just had to laugh at so much of this, especially when Taylor was going on about the intense musicality of Nick Rhodes' plink-plonking keyboards or the depth of Simon LeBon's lyrics. This is the guy who wrote my favourite (because it's so stupid) lyric of all time: "You're about as easy as a nuclear war." Oh my.
42 to 44. Fireblood Dragon series by Ruby Dixon
Dragons are not Ice Planet Barbarians, more's the pity. Harder to get behind the premise coz these guys are responsible for the destruction of the planet -- even though it's sorta-kinda-maybe not their fault. But there's more bonding and sex, so.
45. Escape from Oz by Piers Platt
Oz is a prison planet where the prisoners are left to their own devices (think "Escape From New York"). One man tries to navigate the system. It was pretty forgettable.
46 to 62. Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward
Pretty much love these! The Brotherhood are the elite warrior vampires who protect the civilian class from outside threats. They're big, arrogant, and can be complete asses. They have stupid misspelled named like Phury and Rhage. (WHY THOSE EXTRA H'S, WHYYY) And in each story one of them falls in love and the women are badass and there's a gay couple and an overarching storyline that encompasses them all and OH RHAGE YOU ARE MY FAVOURITE. *ahem*
63. Starlite Rite by Cherise Sinclair
The author of the Shadowlands series. I honestly don't remember this book.
64. The Story of Son by JR Ward
The author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Ditto.
65 to 70. Fallen Angel series by JR Ward
God and the Devil are tired of the never-ending battle for souls and supremacy. They decide to set up a winner-take-all match. One champion with six chances to either lead a wayward soul toward the light or into darkness (though the champion has no idea what the challenges are, and Satan tends to cheat.) Highly enjoyable.
71 to 73. Red Rising series by Pierce Brown
BRILLIANT series about a futuristic society whose members are separated by caste (denoted by a colour ranking) and genetic engineering plus a corrupt ruling class ensure that no one can rise above their station. However, a rebellion is brewing among the Reds. I can't say much without ruining it, but I cannot recommend the series enough. The world building and character growth is astounding. And the fourth book in the series comes out next week EEEEEEE.
74. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Also a great book, this one's about another futuristic society where Earth has simply run out of room and resources for its people, and most of them spend as much time as possible in the Virtual Reality world known as Oasis. The creator of Oasis has died and he's left a complex riddle (based on 1980's era pop culture) within the system. Whoever solves it first inherits his billions and control of the Oasis itself. So of course we've got our average joe's being racing against an evil conglomerate who aren't above murder to win the game. This is going to be a movie in a few months, too.
75. Gone by Michael Grant
Under The Dome meets Logan's Run? All the adults vanish, leaving children 15 and under trapped behind an energy forcefield in a small town. I read this one, but had no interest in continuing the trilogy.
76 to 78. Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness
Oooh, another one I really liked. Society has splintered into tiny remote communities after a war on an alien planet, in the aftermath of which all the males have gained the ability to read minds. Unfortunately this is not like plucking out a single thought -- its a constant deluge of noise that can drive men insane. This is a coming of age story, a road trip story, a story about race relations, and a frightening look at misogyny and abuse all in one.
79. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
LOVED the premise. Each chapter starts off with a quick summary of what the "indie kids" are up to.. these are the kids like BUFFY who *would* be the main characters in any other book. So you get a quick bullet point synopsis filled with the worst Young Adult cliches (falling in love with angsty vampires, zombie cops, mysterious blue lights, blowing up the school) but the main part of the book is about the regular kids who are just trying to deal with homework and zits and being OCD and crushing on your sister's best friend.
80 to 82. Stolen by an Alien / Rescued by an Alien / Won by an Alien by Amanda Milo
Enjoyed the world building and creative idea behind this one, where the ubiquitous kidnapped Earth women resemble a rarified and elite breed of females who are worshipped by their males. Bit of a mix-up when one of the Earthers is then spirited away by a guard. Got a little over the top but I enjoyed the idea.
83. The Corsair's Captive by Ruby Dixon
Not Ice Planet Barbarians.
84 to 93. Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh
Hunters hunt rogue vampires, who are created by angels, who are the highest species (and not religious or holy) on the food chain. They are, however, insanely powerful, usually arrogant, and pretty damn sexy. Elena Devereaux, guild hunter, manages to fall in love with one of the most powerful archangels of the lot. I really enjoyed the idea of how Elena and Raphael's love physically (physiologically?) changes him. As with most series like this, each subsequent novel features a different vampire or angel finding love, while also continuing an overriding story arc. I couldn't put these down, to be honest.
94. The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter
The first of a series called Lords of the Underworld, this is really quite horrifically bad. A telepath seeks out these immortal warriors for help, except these guys are like, really grossly 'bad boys' -- they've each been imprisoned with a plague or sin like Violence, Promiscuity, Disease, etc inside their bodies and must 'do battle' with it nightly, except they usually don't win and you hear that they caused untold years worth of death and destruction, yet somehow they sound like frat boys. Ugh.
95. Dark Planet Warriors by Anna Carven
I think this was another self-pub. I don't remember much of it except that it was another alien-meets-human book.
96. Lauren's Barbarian by Ruby Dixon
This time the barbarians are on a tropical island. IT JUST MIGHT BE TIME TO LET THIS DIE, RUBY.
97. Land of the Beautiful Dead by R. Lee Smith
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh I cannot say enough about this book. It's a self-pub, but it's gorgeous. Azrael, the immortal who has the ability to raise the dead and set them to whatever task he desires, has scoured the Earth and raised his Eaters (zombies). What remains of humankind live in walled encampments in the ruins. Lan goes to the dead city of Haven (London) in order to entreat Azrael to let his Eaters die. That's how the book begins, and it continues for about 800 glorious pages as Lan and Azrael bicker, intrigue each other, have sex, learn some hard truths, and find out that there are reasons behind everything and geeeez, its just like this epic quest and dark love story all in one. And I cannot recommend it highly enough.
98. The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith
So then I read this one, and OH MY WORD. I think I love Beautiful Dead more, but it's a close call. Here we have a pioneering spaceship that crash lands on a remote planet, and its inhabited by lizard people. JUST GO WITH ME ON THIS ONE, OKAY. Because I am telling you, you will LOVE Meoraq, the lizardman who witnesses the aftermath of the crash and sees it as a sign from his God that he must travel to a sacred shrine. Our heroine is Amber, who is the only sensible member of the survivors and who is of course labelled a bitch by the self-appointed leader of the humans because she dares to speak up, and she and Meoraq meet and learn to communicate and fall in love and and and SO MUCH HAPPENS. Nothing is as it seems and there is so much strife (sometimes a little too much on the human side -- I really wanted to kick some of the humans in the teeth and while Amber is awesome and badass, she sometimes made me cringe when she was dealing with her sister or getting dealt yet.another.blow and sometimes it was hard to take)... but honestly everyone should read this coz its pretty damn awesome.
99. Nine Minutes by Beth Flynn
A 15 year old girl gets kidnapped by a biker gang and falls in love with the leader of the pack.. who has super-creepily been tracking her since she was six years old. SIX. Yeah. This is a weird mash-up coz it's like the authors wants to make the gang all 'realistically' bad yet it's like a teen girls swoony version of what a bad boy biker gang would be? And there's so many overwrought plot twists. Not a fan.
100. Transcendence by Shay Savage
This was interesting because it was told entirely from the point of view of a caveman who did not have the ability to learn language. He finds a woman in one of his dugout pits and thinks she must be meant to be his new mate. We can tell that she's from our time but we rarely know what she's actually saying because Ehd cannot understand her. Yet they work together to survive the winter and find happiness together. I was impressed more by the skill it took to tell an entire story from the POV of a man without language and little dialogue than the plot itself.
So at least I smoked ONE of the goals. Onward to 2018, where I truly hope to get back on track. Hope y'all are well, flisties!
.