Gazelles On Crack Rotating Header Image

book review

Book Review Paranormal Style: Darkness Unbound

Nov 4th, 2011
by gazelle.
1 comment

Darkness Unbound (Dark Angels, #1)Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay – so I have to admit. What with grad school, and work, and coming up baby stuff, etc., I like to read fluff. And since I also really like to read, I read a lot of fluff. I don’t want to get too involved in the story. I don’t want to have to do a lot of thinking. I just want to be entertained, and I prefer to be entertained with werewolves. I am assuming that at some point in my life (i.e. when the bean is like 10 or something) I can start reading literature again. In the meantime, I am going to unabashedly enjoy my werewolf porn. SO THERE! Ahem.

Keri Arthur is the author of the 9-book Riley Jenson Guardian series, and the most pornographic (I mean that in an extremely good way, btw) of my werewolf porn. I quite enjoyed the Riley Jenson series. Quite. I had also read her two “Myth & Magic” books, but was less impressed…I wasn’t sure what to expect with the new Dark Angels series, but was intrigued that the main character ‘Risa Jones’ was also present for the last 6 of the Riley Jenson series (albeit as a very small child), and that it sounded like Riley would have a presence in these books. I am a sucker for “where are they now?” reveals.

The Story
Risa Jones is half werewolf (her mother is a werewolf clone & a famous psychic!) and half Aedh (a race of angelic-type creatures, complete with wings & an amazing kissing ability; she’s never met her father. Apparently the Aedh don’t actually produce a child until they are reaching the end of their lifespans – which number in the thousands of years, which means the end of their lifespans could still encompass another 20-40 years or something). ANYWAYS -

Risa has an extraordinary ability as a result of her heritage. She can see the reapers – those who are sent to escort the souls of the dead to their resting places.

Other than the occasional favor to her mother when she looks for the souls of the dying to let the surviving loved ones know if they’ve moved on yet, she spends her time working at the restaurant she owns with her two besties.

Of course, that would be a super boring book, so something must happen, right? AND IT DOES!

All of a sudden, Risa is the subject of much interest…she gains a reaper follower (a hot young thing who goes by Azriel – only time will tell if he will ever reveal his true name to Risa), an Aedh lover (he is trapped in a mortal form ever since his wings were ripped off as punishment for avenging his sister’s death), and new contact with the previously absent father. In addition, Madrilene Hunter – one of the oldest & probably the scariest vampire in Australia who also happens to be the head of the Directorate of Other Races (the Guardian division, which Aunt Riley works for, is a division of the Directorate).

It seems Papa Aedh and a few friends were very naughty indeed. They manufactured some keys that have the ability to completely open – or close – the gates of heaven & hell. Open = bad, because all those currently stuck in hell could come out! Closed = bad, because that means that no new souls could get out to inhabit the newly born, leaving a bunch of soulless, vegetable people.

Risa is the only one who can find these keys and destroy them (or get them to the people who want to use them). Not everyone wants her to find these keys; or at least not on her own. She is attacked. And beaten. And tortured. And kidnapped. Her friends are attacked. There is a lot of violence and weirdness. And awesomeness, too, of course.

The Score
Romance/Sexytimes: A – Well, it is Keri Arthur, and she does know how to bring the heat! Risa & her Aedh lover (Lucian) get pretty involved!

Writing: B+ – This was pretty well written. Nothing irritated me while reading, nor was I distracted by poor grammar or weirdly constructed sentences. However, the writing was not out-of-this-world.

Paranormality: B – I honestly think this is Keri’s weak point. The paranormal worlds just seem a bit off. The hover bike mention seemed unnecessary and just a tool to say “hey! it’s the future!” which wasn’t necessary. It’s a paranormal world – you don’t need to work so hard to prove it! There aren’t really inconsistencies, but the world building always feels a bit weak.

Book Score: A- – I enjoyed it. It was a good story with plenty of action (of all sorts). I liked the brief glimpses into characters from the Guardian series, and really like the character development of Risa. I was so excited to find out that the 2nd in the series was being released just a month later (i.e. 10/25/11 – double i.e. I’ve already finished it) so I wouldn’t have to wait too long to find out what was happening next.

View all my reviews

 

 

Gratitude Journal

November 4, 2011: I am grateful for the internet, which gives me the ability to work from home, in my pajamas, this morning.

November 3, 2011: I am grateful that I have a good job that is challenging & interesting, if not necessarily catering to my life interests. I have the opportunity for professional development (weekly leadership seminar today!), have a decent salary, good health insurance, and a bunch of people who are excited for my pregnancy and not at all worried about my maternity leave (in fact, they’ve told me to not even THINK about being available in May – i.e. budget season – and that they’d get through it without me, as long as I do all the prep work before I leave…)

November 2, 2011: I am grateful for the architect, who is simply wonderful. He picks up the household slack when I’m busy with schoolwork, brings me chicken fingers on his way home from work, and is simply the most wonderful husband I could ask for…

November 1, 2011:  I am grateful for my (so far, knock on wood) easy and wonderful pregnancy

Book Review: My Abandonment – AND a Giveaway! YAY!

Oct 12th, 2011
by gazelle.
7 comments

My AbandonmentMy Abandonment by Peter Rock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very interesting story. It’s based in my town (yay! Portland!) and is, at least in the beginning, set in Forest Park – where I spend a lot of my free running time (yay! trail running!). In addition, it’s based on a true story, so that’s even better (in a manner of speaking – the trueness of the story is actually probably not better for the people involved).

So – the gist (mild spoilers):

A veteran and his daughter live in Forest Park, coming into Portland (across my bridge! to my Safeway!) to collect his disability checks and buy the food they cannot grow. They move around fairly frequently in the Park and spend about four years there, undetected.

They are finally discovered, and brought in & held for awhile by Social Services (I’m sure to make sure that there was no abuse or other weirdness going on). They are placed on a ranch; the father is given a job, and the daughter, who was homeschooled very well during their tenure in the Park, is to start school.

And then – they disappear again.

Although the above does contain mild spoilers, those are the basic facts of the true story. What happens next – which I’m NOT going to talk about – is where the author takes over the string of events.

I found the story very interesting and engaging – a really quick read. Although I understand (to a point) the desire to live off the grid and to keep your child innocent of the world (the father quotes Thoreau a lot), I think that it’s a little unrealistic and found myself really disliking the father – especially towards the end of the book.

His paranoia got worse as the story went on, and I’m sure there was some kind of PTSD from his war service, but I think that his actions are very nearly inexcusable.

Also? Now every time I’m in Forest Park alone, I feel a little paranoid that I’m suddenly going to stumble across a large encampment of itinerants and they’ll kill me so I don’t reveal their location. (Okay – I don’t actually feel that way – I stay on the trails…but I do feel like I’m being watched ALL THE TIME.)

So – a good read, a decent story. I enjoyed the way the author took the basic facts and spun something very engaging from those facts. I do wish his mind had gone more towards the “and they lived happily ever after in a lovely remote compound in Idaho” ending than where it did go, but I can’t fault him for that…my mind hardly ever does happily ever after, either.

View all my reviews

 

And a giveaway!

It’s getting to be that time of the year again! It’s time for All Hallow’s Read! Leave a comment on this post (Edited to add: by 10/25/11) telling me your most memorable (or favorite) scary, creepy, or weird book and two people will be randomly selected to receive a scary book. You can also specify if you want to receive a children’s scary book, a YA scary book, or an adult scary book.  The book will, of course, be my choice (mwa ha ha) – I believe last year’s winners both received copies of Chuck Palahniuk’s “Haunted,” which in addition to being awesome, apparently also glows in the dark & can be used to scare your significant other in the middle of the night.

So – comment away! Win a book!

Book Review Paranormal Style: Walker Papers #7 – Spirit Dances

Oct 5th, 2011
by gazelle.
1 comment

Spirit Dances (Walker Papers, #6)Spirit Dances by C.E. Murphy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMFG. Seriously. I wouldn’t have classified the Walker Papers series in my top paranormal romance picks before #6 here. I mean, I’d read them all, but hadn’t paid much attention to when #6 was being released (like I do w/ my Kate Daniels & Mercedes Thompson books). In fact, I believe this actually came out in April. That’s right – five whole months before I even noticed.

BUT BUT BUT – I read it in one sitting, have subsequently read it again, and have read the last half of the last chapter 1 million times (approximately). LOVE LOVE LOVE.

ANYWAYS – On to the review:

The Story
Joanne Walker reluctantly entered the world of the supernatural in Book 1 (Urban Shaman) when she was skewered by Cernunnos and given the choice to live as a shaman or die. Much like the choice between cake or death, it seemed an easy one at the time. However, once reality set in, she spent a lot of time sulking and/or screwing up royally. (One of the reasons I was not obsessed with the first five books – it took her that long to get a grip, grow up, and take responsibility for her powers.)

She is a detective with the Seattle PD, and one half of SPD’s only paranormal detective team. Her partner, Billy Holliday (his parents maybe didn’t think that one through), sees dead people (or, more accurately, murdered people). Her best friend, Gary Muldoon, is a 74-year-old cab driver who ran off to San Diego for the duration of this book (my only real complaint – I love Gary), and the other major players are Billy’s wife Melinda (a bruja!), Joanne’s friend/spirit guide Coyote (Cyrano), and her boss, Morrison.

This book takes place around St. Patrick’s Day, or, more specifically just before the spring equinox and during the full moon. Someone in Seattle is kidnapping the homeless and murdered (supernaturally, of course) the lead dancer in a Native American dance troupe. Joanne must work with Billy, Mel, and Morrison to find the supernatural killer before more people die.

BUT – I can’t tell you the best part of the story (I hate spoilers), and it likely wouldn’t BE the best part if you hadn’t read the previous five books. There is romantic build up that happened for five previous books! And FINALLY. Something came of it. BUT, that something happened in the last half of the last chapter. And then? Nothing! DAMN YOU CE MURPHY! (PS – Book #7 comes out in March 2012.)

The Score
Romance/Sexytimes: A+ – Okay – so it was slow in coming (hee), and there wasn’t a lot there, but OMFG (again), YAY!

Writing: B+ – I enjoy the writing. It’s definitely on the level of my other favorite paranormal series(es?), and I am finally liking Joanne a lot more, too.

Paranormality: A- – First off, I love books set in places I can visit. Secondly, I like the gradual exposure to the Seattle paranormal world. Nothing seems forced or completely off the wall. It’s all very believable; especially with some of the mysteries that remain – like what’s the deal really with Mel’s power & Gary’s ability to drive with the Force?

Book Score: A – Solid A for reals…..so much love for this book. Perhaps I will read it again tonight. And every day until #7 comes out in March. I wish I was the kind of person who got advanced reading copies. I need to know someone.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Little Bee

Sep 21st, 2011
by gazelle.
2 comments

Little BeeLittle Bee by Chris Cleave

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a book club pick, and I actually really enjoyed it. If I’d done the rating/review before the book club discussion, I probably would’ve given it four stars. However, our discussion really changed my viewpoint.

The Story
Little Bee is a 16-year-old Nigerian refugee who has been held at a detention center in the UK for *mumble mumble* time before being released. However, the release was not so much on the up & up, and she’s still illegal.

Sarah & Andrew O’Rourke are a British couple with a young son (Charlie, who refuses to take off his Batman costume) and a marriage that is falling apart.

Sarah, Andrew, and Little Bee were inextricably tied together by events on a Nigerian beach in the most ill-advised free, marriage saving vacation ever. (Hey sweetie, I know that I’ve done you wrong, but I’d like to take you on this free vacation to a war-ravaged country, and then we’ll ignore the armed guards on the beach & just wander off, secure that our whiteness is all the protection that we need!)

ANYWAYS – The characters are such that it is hard to really like them. They are so flawed. However, I don’t feel that detracts from the story. I’m okay with having characters I don’t like (and regardless of the opinion of other book club members, I actually rather enjoyed Charlie/Batman – little tyke was dealing with a lot of shit, and if he needs to be Batman to process the fact that his parents are neglectful douches, then I think that is A-OK).

The story covers what happens when Little Bee reunites with Sarah & Andrew in the UK as well as what happened to link them all together in the first place.

I think it was well-written, evoked a lot of emotion, and was a very interesting and depressing story. However, I do think the ending was anti-climactic, rather stupid, and not nearly as realistic/well-written as the rest of the story. Sarah’s character is so impulsive and rash, and the more I read of her and thought about her, the more I couldn’t deal with her actions, even on a fictional level; she seems unable to learn from the mistakes of the past, and her impulsive actions endanger herself, and more importantly, her pre-school son.

So – I think it’s absolutely worth reading. There is no way that I will go see this when the movie comes out. And I’d be interested to hear the opinions of others who’ve read it…..

View all my reviews

Book Review: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Sep 14th, 2011
by gazelle.
Comments are off for this post

Hold Me Closer, NecromancerHold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So – I read this for my 2nd book club. My YA book club. This is the first book in the series, and while I was immediately taken with the title (because, really? hee!), when I first started the book, I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it.

The writing style is a bit juvenile, and although it’s a YA book, since there’s sex and violence (and necromancy), one would expect the book to have a more A than Y tone. BUT, as the book went on, the story, although not complex, engaged me, and I was able to move past my initial reservations about the writing and just enjoy the ride.

The Story
Sam (short for Samhain) is a college dropout who works at a local Seattle fast food joint. His co-workers include best friend from birth (or at least 5th grade) Ramon, junior employee Frank, and Brooke – who the boys are torn between lusting after and protecting like a sister.

A quick game of parking lot hockey (with brooms and a potato, natch – this fast food joint must actually cut their own fries – FANCY) results in a Mercedes with a broken taillight. When the owner comes in, he spots Sam, asks some inexplicable questions, makes some vague threats, and starts Sam’s (and the other characters) down a twisted path of death, destruction, and a first-hand glimpse into the magical world that they never suspected existed.

Sam finds out that he’s a necromancer, and the meanie car owner (Douglas Montgomery) offers to take him as an apprentice. This offer seems a bit sketchy (due to the violence inherent in the system perpetrated against Sam & his friends as motivational tools), and when Sam visits his mom to find out what she knows about this, he finds out that she was not only aware of his necromantic tendencies, but that she’s a witch who’s been trying (and lying) to protect him all these years.

Douglas Montgomery is up to more than just trying to take a new apprentice, and his minion (a werewolf named Michael) accidentally kidnaps the daughter – and heir – of the leader of the fey hounds. She is half fey hound & half werewolf, and when she is thrown together with Sam, their lives get pretty interesting.

The Score
Romance/Sexytimes: B+ – for a YA book, there was a bit of steamyness. Apparently throwing together a half were wolf who needs a LOT of physical activity to stay sane (and to not eat people) with an impressionable young man leads to…exactly where you’d think. Hee.

Writing: B – Like I mentioned above, the writing didn’t thrill me. I mean, it’s not Twilight bad or anything. The author seems to have a decent grasp of how sentences work, but it wasn’t what I would necessarily call really good or anything. It was an enjoyable story, though.

Paranormality: A- – I love me a book with secret magical worlds that the protagonist must discover. The magical hierarchy and world were not well-developed, more just taken as fact. I would’ve liked to see more, but I’m assuming there will be sequels (if there’s not already – I should look into that), that might do more world-building.

Book Score: B+ It was an enjoyable story. A light & easy read. Nothing earth-shattering or ground breaking, or even thought-provoking, but pleasant, interesting, engaging, and, well, werewolves! – I love werewolves!

View all my reviews

← Earlier Posts