Books for May
Jun. 2nd, 2009 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indiana_jApparently I don't read on vacations or during my down time. So weird. Instead, I read on the metro and at lunch during work - this explains a bit why this was a small reading month.
1. The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia. I had previously read The Alchemy of Stone by this author and, despite the fact that it was a kind of odd book, I really liked it. I picked this one up based on the strength of the other book and it was pretty good. To be honest, I didn't care for any of the main characters all that much - they were pretty much beaten down by life and not the nicest of people, all in all - but the writing was superb and the 'other world' was incredibly interesting.
2. Brimstone Kiss (Delilah Street, book 2) by Carole Nelson Douglas. Ugh. I vaguely remember her mystery books (didn't she write ones with cats?) and I got this one because, generally, I enjoy a good urban fantasy romp. My current urban fantasy authors have spoiled me rotten, seriously. I hadn't realized this was the second book in the series but since she sums up everything in the prologue, there's really no reason to go and buy it. It. Just. Was bad. I hated the main character and the only enjoyable part of the book was the whole 'old stars brought to life' aspect but since you had to experience it through Delilah's eyes ... just a very boring book.
3. Never After by Rebecca Lickiss. This was pretty cute. The 'prince charming' of the book discovers, to his chagrin, that the castle with a sleeping princess actually holds three princes and returns with his stubborn cousin so that she can kiss the guys awake and he can move in on the hot princess asleep in the dining hall. They join forces with three wizards and all of them come afoul of a cranky, misguided fairy godmother who forces the Princess in question to endure princess tests. Again, I disliked a majority of the main characters with the exception of the guy who comes to the cousin's rescue and the cousin herself. However, I suspect Lickiss planned it that way - the prince charming was a doofus and the magicians weren't much better. Tongue in cheek from start to finish and a very easy read.
4. Mulengro: A Romany Tale by Charles de Lint. I've never read de Lint before and apparently this is one of a handful of his darker novels. I'll say. It was an incredibly enjoyable story that got bogged down towards the end, I think, but not so badly that it completely ruined it for me. I was never truely scared but the suspense was kept up quite nicely until the end. The view into Rom culture was incredibly fascinating.
5. Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin. The journals of Dr. Jekyll's maid, Mary Reilly, give a new and rather creepy insight to the good doctor and his not so good alter ego. It was an interesting book, in part because I knew what the ending was going to be. But seeing it from Mary's point of view was incredibly interesting. Knowing what the ending was going to be meant it wasn't really a scary book but there was some suspense and a good build up to what you knew what was coming. I was told there was a movie, checked it out online - and I'll stick with the book, thanks.
What do I recommend? All of them are good reads, for different reasons, with the glaring exception of Brimstone Kiss. The star was probably Mulengro.
1. The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia. I had previously read The Alchemy of Stone by this author and, despite the fact that it was a kind of odd book, I really liked it. I picked this one up based on the strength of the other book and it was pretty good. To be honest, I didn't care for any of the main characters all that much - they were pretty much beaten down by life and not the nicest of people, all in all - but the writing was superb and the 'other world' was incredibly interesting.
2. Brimstone Kiss (Delilah Street, book 2) by Carole Nelson Douglas. Ugh. I vaguely remember her mystery books (didn't she write ones with cats?) and I got this one because, generally, I enjoy a good urban fantasy romp. My current urban fantasy authors have spoiled me rotten, seriously. I hadn't realized this was the second book in the series but since she sums up everything in the prologue, there's really no reason to go and buy it. It. Just. Was bad. I hated the main character and the only enjoyable part of the book was the whole 'old stars brought to life' aspect but since you had to experience it through Delilah's eyes ... just a very boring book.
3. Never After by Rebecca Lickiss. This was pretty cute. The 'prince charming' of the book discovers, to his chagrin, that the castle with a sleeping princess actually holds three princes and returns with his stubborn cousin so that she can kiss the guys awake and he can move in on the hot princess asleep in the dining hall. They join forces with three wizards and all of them come afoul of a cranky, misguided fairy godmother who forces the Princess in question to endure princess tests. Again, I disliked a majority of the main characters with the exception of the guy who comes to the cousin's rescue and the cousin herself. However, I suspect Lickiss planned it that way - the prince charming was a doofus and the magicians weren't much better. Tongue in cheek from start to finish and a very easy read.
4. Mulengro: A Romany Tale by Charles de Lint. I've never read de Lint before and apparently this is one of a handful of his darker novels. I'll say. It was an incredibly enjoyable story that got bogged down towards the end, I think, but not so badly that it completely ruined it for me. I was never truely scared but the suspense was kept up quite nicely until the end. The view into Rom culture was incredibly fascinating.
5. Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin. The journals of Dr. Jekyll's maid, Mary Reilly, give a new and rather creepy insight to the good doctor and his not so good alter ego. It was an interesting book, in part because I knew what the ending was going to be. But seeing it from Mary's point of view was incredibly interesting. Knowing what the ending was going to be meant it wasn't really a scary book but there was some suspense and a good build up to what you knew what was coming. I was told there was a movie, checked it out online - and I'll stick with the book, thanks.
What do I recommend? All of them are good reads, for different reasons, with the glaring exception of Brimstone Kiss. The star was probably Mulengro.