Books for July
Aug. 13th, 2009 01:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indiana_jI'm all moved in, just with no 'net at home right now (Cox is looking at it today) and utterly exhausted. I have no brain power to do much beyond this list right now.
1. The Trouble With Demons (Raine Benares, #3) by Lisa Shearin. Aww, one of my favorite fantasy series! *snuggles* Raine is back and is in even more trouble than the last two books - the pacing is still strong and there are enough hooks and twists to make this very entertaining. Also, many props to Shearin because this is one of those romance-y books where I'm "No, pick them both! BOOOOTH!" Mmmm...
2. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I saw the Miyazaki movie a while ago and was thoroughly enchanted by it. The book did not disappoint and while the differences stuck out, I think I enjoyed the book just as much as the movie for different reasons. If anything, the book was more fantastical than the movie in terms of scope and such.
3. Dead to Me (Simon Canderous, #1) by Anton Strout. So this is the one that I had the signed copy for ... even that didn't save it. If it's not purple prose, it's listing that just makes the writing awkward and bad. I don't know if this was Strout's first book but it certainly felt like it was. I didn't like any character, main - in fact, I sort of hated the main character - or secondary, and finishing it was like swimming through concrete.
4. The Stepsister Scheme (Princess, #1) by Jim C. Hines. This was such an awesome little novel! A retelling on the princess fairy tales, you wind up with not just one but three off shoots of kick ass princesses (Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty). After the struggle with Strout, it was such a relief to read a book that flowed so well. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
5. Bestial by Ray Garton. I had NOT realized this was a direct sequel for Ravenous and the moment I did realize it my exact reaction was pretty much "Aaaaaagggh!". We're shown more from the bad guys point of view in this and it had less side characters than the first one had - the ending wasn't as much of a gut punch as the first one was, that's for sure. It was still a strong novel but in regards to the first book, I think it's the weaker of the two. It didn't scare me quite as much as the first one did but it's still fairly strong.
6. Here, There & Everywhere by Chris Roberson. I picked this up because it was the story of one of the more fascinating of his characters in The End of the Century, Roxanne Bonaventure. True to form, everything that was character specific was great, especially the section where she teamed up with Sanford Blank, and I devoured it. But when we started to get into the meat of the plot near the end, I was lost. Right over my head, weirdness sort of thing. I think I just kind of want a book on the adventures of Bonaventure and Blank and nothing else, sadly.
7. Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. My very favorite FBI is back. I'd hug him but I don't think he'd like that. ;) I've adored the Preston and Child collaborations since Relic and this book didn't disappoint. I wouldn't rate it as good as the Diogenes series - those (technically) three novels just can't be beat for the villain and the rising conflict between the two brothers. That's the only thing I think the future non-Diogenes series might suffer from - we're lacking a cohesive villain to make us really, really worried that Pendergast wasn't going to make it out alive. Still, this was very enjoyable and continues the theme that Smithback can never, ever, catch a break.
What do I recommend? Howl's Moving Castle and Cemetery Dance make the top of the list this month. Do not read Dead To Me - maybe he gets better but I don't want to bother finding out.
1. The Trouble With Demons (Raine Benares, #3) by Lisa Shearin. Aww, one of my favorite fantasy series! *snuggles* Raine is back and is in even more trouble than the last two books - the pacing is still strong and there are enough hooks and twists to make this very entertaining. Also, many props to Shearin because this is one of those romance-y books where I'm "No, pick them both! BOOOOTH!" Mmmm...
2. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I saw the Miyazaki movie a while ago and was thoroughly enchanted by it. The book did not disappoint and while the differences stuck out, I think I enjoyed the book just as much as the movie for different reasons. If anything, the book was more fantastical than the movie in terms of scope and such.
3. Dead to Me (Simon Canderous, #1) by Anton Strout. So this is the one that I had the signed copy for ... even that didn't save it. If it's not purple prose, it's listing that just makes the writing awkward and bad. I don't know if this was Strout's first book but it certainly felt like it was. I didn't like any character, main - in fact, I sort of hated the main character - or secondary, and finishing it was like swimming through concrete.
4. The Stepsister Scheme (Princess, #1) by Jim C. Hines. This was such an awesome little novel! A retelling on the princess fairy tales, you wind up with not just one but three off shoots of kick ass princesses (Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty). After the struggle with Strout, it was such a relief to read a book that flowed so well. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
5. Bestial by Ray Garton. I had NOT realized this was a direct sequel for Ravenous and the moment I did realize it my exact reaction was pretty much "Aaaaaagggh!". We're shown more from the bad guys point of view in this and it had less side characters than the first one had - the ending wasn't as much of a gut punch as the first one was, that's for sure. It was still a strong novel but in regards to the first book, I think it's the weaker of the two. It didn't scare me quite as much as the first one did but it's still fairly strong.
6. Here, There & Everywhere by Chris Roberson. I picked this up because it was the story of one of the more fascinating of his characters in The End of the Century, Roxanne Bonaventure. True to form, everything that was character specific was great, especially the section where she teamed up with Sanford Blank, and I devoured it. But when we started to get into the meat of the plot near the end, I was lost. Right over my head, weirdness sort of thing. I think I just kind of want a book on the adventures of Bonaventure and Blank and nothing else, sadly.
7. Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. My very favorite FBI is back. I'd hug him but I don't think he'd like that. ;) I've adored the Preston and Child collaborations since Relic and this book didn't disappoint. I wouldn't rate it as good as the Diogenes series - those (technically) three novels just can't be beat for the villain and the rising conflict between the two brothers. That's the only thing I think the future non-Diogenes series might suffer from - we're lacking a cohesive villain to make us really, really worried that Pendergast wasn't going to make it out alive. Still, this was very enjoyable and continues the theme that Smithback can never, ever, catch a break.
What do I recommend? Howl's Moving Castle and Cemetery Dance make the top of the list this month. Do not read Dead To Me - maybe he gets better but I don't want to bother finding out.