Friday Booktalk
Oct
26
2007

I realize I forgot to do this last week!

Let’s see – last night I started and finished Laurell K Hamilton’s A Lick of Frost and loved it. Seriously loved it. Now, I like LKH and I find the bashing bandwagon tedious and frankly if I don’t like an author I just don’t read her anymore but moving along – this book was well done. I won’t disagree with criticism that the sex in the last few years in her books hasn’t been used to move the plot anywhere and it’s often been with people you don’t care about. But in Frost, it was perfectly done and there for a reason. The plot was really interesting and with the exception of a slightly dodgy bit of manipulation of mythology at the end (which I’m not even frowning over really, I understand why she did it), I think this book is one of the best in the series. I wish it had been about a hundred pages longer but I’ve noticed a lot of hardback books in shorter lengths these days.

Anne Stuart – Shadows on Sunset – okay we’ve established how much I love Anne Stuart but I really loved this one. It’s right up there at the top of my AS faves I think. I loved the paranormal parts, loved the totally tragic storyline, loved the hero and I didn’t hate the heroine. Although, I have to say at the end, the hero didn’t suffer enough! Still, fabulous pacing, great sexual tension, just a great, great story.

While on vacation I read:

Eve Kenin – Driven -Each new Shomi novel I read convinces me more and more that this new line is one of the best things to happen to romance in a very long time.

Raina is a strong woman, smart, driven and on the run from a diabolical mand who threatens her very existence. She’s thrown into a situation where she ends up taking on a mysterious and sexy stranger who challenges her control.

Wizard is sexy and strong and utterly not what he seems and Kenin (Eve Silver) draws out his story with a fine hand. As well as she does the emotion between these two characters.

I’m not always a fan of the big reveal of original intent where the heroine finds something out, feels betrayed, runs off and the hero saves her sort of thing – but again, in the right hands, it works like it does here.

Nail biting action, a very well developed world and great characters make Driven an absolute must read.

Elizabeth Hoyt – The Raven Prince – In Anna Wren, we get a marvelously non-cliched heroine. A widow with some wounds but a backbone and a sense of humor.

In Edward – we get another non cliched hero – pockmarked with smallpox scars, he’s broody and has his own wounds.

The sexual tension between Anna and Edward is fabulous and builds in a careful and believable way and while I usually don’t go for the faked courtesan thing, it is a storyline I LOVE when it’s done right – and here it was a means to an end and done very well indeed.

Clever dialog, great characters – a really wonderful book.

Charlaine Harris – All Together Dead – I’ve been waiting for this one for a while now but haven’t had time to read it until last week. My verdict is a thumbs up

ATD is much more focused on the mystery elements of the story than any romance between Sookie and her men – which disappointed me but I think the rest of the story was written well enough I can wait for the next chapter.

We get more about Sookie, about her past, about her brother and the other people in her life and an unanswered query about why Sookie continues to involve herself with the supernaturals who obviously threaten her life and safety.

I’d really love to see more with Eric and to figure out what is going on with Quinn as well, but Harris ties up this story quite well, even as she asks more questions.

There are more but I need to finish getting ready for the Emerald City Con!

7 comments to “Friday Booktalk”

  1. kim h
    October 26th, 2007 at 11:04 am · Link

    love anne stuart books



  2. Cathy M
    October 26th, 2007 at 2:24 pm · Link

    I agree about All Together Dead and Lick of Frost, loved em. Have Driven already on my wish list.



  3. Ann Aguirre
    October 26th, 2007 at 5:39 pm · Link

    Ok, I want Shadows on Sunset now.

    And I am dying to read Driven!



  4. Ann
    October 26th, 2007 at 6:06 pm · Link

    I just finished Lick of Frost last night, and thought it was the best of the series too. I loved the intrigue and the politics going on. I even agree that it could have been a little longer. Great book. 😀



  5. Charlene
    October 27th, 2007 at 8:06 am · Link

    Love Anne Stuart. Must get that book! I’m loving Shomi, too. WOW. Just wow.



  6. Loribelle Hunt
    October 27th, 2007 at 8:27 pm · Link

    That is my fave Anne Stuart book. She does bad boys so so well lol. 😉



  7. tvaddictgurl
    October 28th, 2007 at 4:51 pm · Link

    Driven was such a great book! I can’t wait for her next Shomi book.