Friday Booktalk
Dec
14
2007

First – Lara Adrian’s Midnight Awakening

Right off, I need to say that I think Lara Adrian’s Breed books are just amazing, some of the best vampire books out there and they deserve so much more attention than others in the genre do!

In Midnight Awakening we get Tegan’s story. Tegan, the wounded hero we’ve watched over the last two books and wondered about. Adrian gives his story in such stark, unflinching writing and draws the story so taut it makes you breathless.

Just totally well done. The romantic elements with Elise, who you think is so fragile and soft but also carries deep wounds is filled with great tension and chemistry. Wonderful push and pull and a really realistic HEA.

I loved it and really came away thinking it was the best of the series so far!

Charlaine Harris – An Ice Cold Grave

I pretty much have loved everything Harris has written from her cozy mysteries to Sookie but Harper took me a book or two to really begin to enjoy (although I liked the first two, I didn’t love them). But I think Harris has really hit her stride with An Ice Cold Grave.

The big issue in the book is a major spoiler so I won’t go into it other than to say I think Harris handled a particularly thorny issue very well and I was totally happy with the result.

She’s so good at ramping up the fear and stress of the mystery element that by the end I was just as itchy to leave that town as Harper and Tolliver were.

LL Foster – Servant: The Awakening

This book is fabulously dark and uncomfortable and I think Foster took some great risks in the creation of this story rife with moral gray spots and very big questions without any real answers.

First off, if you’re expecting a romance, well why? She’s using a different name here to mark it as different. This is not a romance novel. This is not an easy book. There’s great romantic subtext but Gaby is a totally refreshing change from a lot of the heroines I’ve read and I appreciated that.

In fact, I thing Gaby’s character is what makes this book so inherently readable. The juxtapostion of her innocence with a woman who hunts evil down and kills it with her bare hands is incredibly fascinating. Her loneliness leaps off the page. Her mission is so singular, so stark, just being in Gaby’s head made me ache in points.

Anyway, I will most definitely be back for the next book. Don’t expect Lori Foster here, expect something totally different and you’ll be rewarded.

3 comments to “Friday Booktalk”

  1. Jordan
    December 14th, 2007 at 12:08 pm · Link

    I think the problem is that they stuck Servant right next to her romance books on the shelf, so people are expecting a romance when they pick it up. I’m sure some bookstores put it in urban fantasy, but none of the ones around me. :/



  2. laurendane
    December 14th, 2007 at 12:17 pm · Link

    Sure, and I noticed the spine is labeled romance too – which is problematic (as we’ve seen with other great but mislabeled books like Colleen Gleason’s too). Then again, we know how much authors have control over that sort of stuss – as in none.

    But you know, if it was the same as her other books, she wouldn’t have a different name on it. On top of that, Lori Foster herself has spoken quite a bit about the book and series. When I read the blurb and saw the new name and that cover, I figured it would be dark and it had more romance in it than I’d actually expected, which was a nice bonus.



  3. Shelley Munro
    December 15th, 2007 at 5:06 pm · Link

    I’ve been enjoying Lara’s series, too. In fact I finished the second book yesterday. the further I get into the series, the more I’m enjoying it.

    I picked up the first Harper book a couple of months ago after Jordan recommended them on her blog. I enjoyed it. Harper is such a complex character. I must chase down the next few books in the series.