Labels again

I just finished reading CL Wilson's Lord of the Fading Lands. To be perfectly honest, I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it hadn't been for Jane's review. Why wouldn't I have bought it on my own? Well, because the cover wouldn't've enticed me. While it matches the contents, the design and artwork are not to my taste.

( Cover behind the cut. )

And I'm shallow -- how a book looks is the first thing that grabs my attention, especially when I browsing randomly. But for Jane's recommendation, I wouldn't even have picked this one up.

The spine of this book reads Paranormal Romance. Now, having read it, I disagree with that classification. To me, a paranormal romance is one set on Earth -- maybe today, maybe not -- peopled by supernatural or superhuman characters who live along side of humans. LotFL -- not so much. It is a Fantasy Romance -- a book or story set in an entirely different world, with different historical development and an established magical society and all its constructs.

The book itself? I'm giving it an I for Incomplete. Because the damn book just stopped. I was warned, so it didn't disturb me (much), but without the warning? I'd've been pissed, because in no way is LotFL a complete work as a genre romance (which is what it is being marketed as). Lots of stuff is left up in the air and the suspense plot is really just gaining momentum. (IMO, the first 100 pages were slower than molasses in January and could've used some editing. I had to read the beginning three times before I made it through.) 

Verging on DNF

I picked Gwynne Forster's Naked Soul off Mt. TBR for my commute read this morning.  I've reached page 46 and the book is verging on DNF.  The hero and heroine are both judgmental twits; she's very pretentious, snooty and self-centered, while he's controlling and overbearing.  I'm having a hard time believing that Ms. Forster will be able to redeem them in 240 more pages.

Plus, there are little things that irritate.  For example:  the heroine's grandfather's name changed from Judah to Jonah.  And there's an 18 year old running an office in the U.N., which I find very hard to believe.  Etc.