2011 - Books in Review
It's that time of the year again, where I round up my most and least favorite books of the year.
2010's entry here
I only managed to read 25 books this year, what with baby arriving and all:) I flipped through my books on Goodreads and I would have swore I read more than that, but I think I'm remembering reading all that novel length really good Trek fic this summer.
I noticed I didn't have any standout favorites. I read a lot of good books, but nothing that I thought was OMGFUCKINGFANTASTIC.
Ok, we'll start with my five favorites.
5. Twice Tempted by a Rogue - Tessa Dare
Dare's work is always like comfort food to me. I started this while in the hospital in labor and it helped me get through a lot of the early dark days.
4. Warrior Heir - Cinda Williams Chima
Read this during the crazy power outage over the summer when the freak tornado hit. I really enjoyed the concept and it was a page turner - kept me reading desperately every time the baby napped to find out what happened next.
3. Naamah's Blessing - Jacqueline Carey
If Dare's fiction is comfort food, Carey's is like coming home. It was a treat to visit Terre d'Ange and all the familiar characters and places from her world.
2. Nowhere Near Respectable - Mary Jo Putney
This book was so much fun! You have a mixed-race heroine in the regency who's tough and smart, and just a rollicking good read.
1. The White Road - Lynn Flewelling
I couldn't put the previous book - Shadows Return - on this list because that one HURT to read, but the White Road helped to sooth the hurt in that one. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series, due out sometimes next year.
And now for the fun list.
I only have 4 I felt worth putting on this list. I think I'm getting better at avoiding books that aren't my cut of tea. Or perhaps I just didn't read enough this year! I read some mediocre titles, but none of those were worthy of the vitriol I'm about to spill on the following titles.
My 4 least favorites of the year
4. Sepulchre by Kate Mosse
I really enjoyed Labyrinth, the first book in this series, so I was very disappointed in Sepulchre, which had some cool sequences, but then ultimately fails to live up to its premise. The thing about Labyrinth - eventually the two stories made sense. But the plot lines in Sepulchre failed to connect, and the magic tarot cards only made things even more confusing.
3. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
I loved the first third or so of this book. But then it twisted into something that made me want to throw it across the room. The first third was along the lines of an Austen novel - a regency-like world with magic and some strange planet orbiting. The main character is one of several sisters, etc, the usual Austen trappings. Then, all of a sudden, the 2nd third turns into Jane Eyre, including shifting from 3rd person to first person POV, and while we're in this Jane Eyre rip off the plotlines of the other 2 POV characters in the first bit are totally left hanging. And then we have the last third where the sexist bullshit just leaps off the page and I wanted to punch one of the main characters. I really hated how this author took classic works of female literature with strong female characters and made a pastiche, a mockery of them. Add to that the nonsensical science and you have one stupid book.
2. The Bid, by Jax
To understand my anger at this book, you have to see the cover.
Ok. Really smoking hot cover right? Looks like a threesome, right? The summary indicates this is slave fic, and I have certain expectations. However, not only is there no threesome, what we have is a bait and switch - a story presented as a hot m/f/m erotica is really a homophobic alien shifter story that's only m/f with some of the most boring and squicky sex I've read in quite a while. It made me so angry, especially when I saw all the good reviews it received. I'm like - hey, was I the only one expecting some hot femDom action with possibly some guy/guy on the side?
I mean, just LOOK at that cover!!!!
I'm so glad I ranted about this one goodreads, I'd forgotten some of the horror - including the word "kitty" as a euphemism for vagina. Really?
And yet, that's not the worst book I read all year. That honor goes to:
1. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
And perhaps to say I read this would be untrue. I only managed to slog through about 100 pages. This was the first book I attempted to read after home from the hospital with baby. Now, I was clearly suffering from some depression, but this book didn't help.
I don't have a problem with long books, but as I read I was wondering if the story would ever show up so I looked up summaries on goodreads. OMG. Apparently this is like some dude's Mary Sue fic gone wild. I got snapped out of the narrative when the main character makes a comment about being only 15 - at that point I'd forgotten, and I just couldn't BUY the novel after that. And it apparently just gets worse as it goes on.
I was so mad because I'd been waiting for this book for a while because I really enjoyed the Name of the Wind and I'd spent so much f'king money for it on my kindle. I couldn't even throw it!
2010's entry here
I only managed to read 25 books this year, what with baby arriving and all:) I flipped through my books on Goodreads and I would have swore I read more than that, but I think I'm remembering reading all that novel length really good Trek fic this summer.
I noticed I didn't have any standout favorites. I read a lot of good books, but nothing that I thought was OMGFUCKINGFANTASTIC.
Ok, we'll start with my five favorites.
5. Twice Tempted by a Rogue - Tessa Dare
Dare's work is always like comfort food to me. I started this while in the hospital in labor and it helped me get through a lot of the early dark days.
4. Warrior Heir - Cinda Williams Chima
Read this during the crazy power outage over the summer when the freak tornado hit. I really enjoyed the concept and it was a page turner - kept me reading desperately every time the baby napped to find out what happened next.
3. Naamah's Blessing - Jacqueline Carey
If Dare's fiction is comfort food, Carey's is like coming home. It was a treat to visit Terre d'Ange and all the familiar characters and places from her world.
2. Nowhere Near Respectable - Mary Jo Putney
This book was so much fun! You have a mixed-race heroine in the regency who's tough and smart, and just a rollicking good read.
1. The White Road - Lynn Flewelling
I couldn't put the previous book - Shadows Return - on this list because that one HURT to read, but the White Road helped to sooth the hurt in that one. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series, due out sometimes next year.
And now for the fun list.
I only have 4 I felt worth putting on this list. I think I'm getting better at avoiding books that aren't my cut of tea. Or perhaps I just didn't read enough this year! I read some mediocre titles, but none of those were worthy of the vitriol I'm about to spill on the following titles.
My 4 least favorites of the year
4. Sepulchre by Kate Mosse
I really enjoyed Labyrinth, the first book in this series, so I was very disappointed in Sepulchre, which had some cool sequences, but then ultimately fails to live up to its premise. The thing about Labyrinth - eventually the two stories made sense. But the plot lines in Sepulchre failed to connect, and the magic tarot cards only made things even more confusing.
3. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
I loved the first third or so of this book. But then it twisted into something that made me want to throw it across the room. The first third was along the lines of an Austen novel - a regency-like world with magic and some strange planet orbiting. The main character is one of several sisters, etc, the usual Austen trappings. Then, all of a sudden, the 2nd third turns into Jane Eyre, including shifting from 3rd person to first person POV, and while we're in this Jane Eyre rip off the plotlines of the other 2 POV characters in the first bit are totally left hanging. And then we have the last third where the sexist bullshit just leaps off the page and I wanted to punch one of the main characters. I really hated how this author took classic works of female literature with strong female characters and made a pastiche, a mockery of them. Add to that the nonsensical science and you have one stupid book.
2. The Bid, by Jax
To understand my anger at this book, you have to see the cover.
Ok. Really smoking hot cover right? Looks like a threesome, right? The summary indicates this is slave fic, and I have certain expectations. However, not only is there no threesome, what we have is a bait and switch - a story presented as a hot m/f/m erotica is really a homophobic alien shifter story that's only m/f with some of the most boring and squicky sex I've read in quite a while. It made me so angry, especially when I saw all the good reviews it received. I'm like - hey, was I the only one expecting some hot femDom action with possibly some guy/guy on the side?
I mean, just LOOK at that cover!!!!
I'm so glad I ranted about this one goodreads, I'd forgotten some of the horror - including the word "kitty" as a euphemism for vagina. Really?
And yet, that's not the worst book I read all year. That honor goes to:
1. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
And perhaps to say I read this would be untrue. I only managed to slog through about 100 pages. This was the first book I attempted to read after home from the hospital with baby. Now, I was clearly suffering from some depression, but this book didn't help.
I don't have a problem with long books, but as I read I was wondering if the story would ever show up so I looked up summaries on goodreads. OMG. Apparently this is like some dude's Mary Sue fic gone wild. I got snapped out of the narrative when the main character makes a comment about being only 15 - at that point I'd forgotten, and I just couldn't BUY the novel after that. And it apparently just gets worse as it goes on.
I was so mad because I'd been waiting for this book for a while because I really enjoyed the Name of the Wind and I'd spent so much f'king money for it on my kindle. I couldn't even throw it!