May's reading
May. 30th, 2008 09:41 amSince I’m not likely to read anything else this month, here's my reading list. Fifteen books read, including 2 rereads, 4 keepers, and 4 DNF.
1. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. Nonfiction. Discussed here.
2. A Lady’s Secret by Jo Beverley. Georgian historical, road romance. Good; I'm finished with the Mallorens, though.
3. Passage by Lois McMaster Bujold. Fantasy. I don’t think I could possibly squee enough to convey my love for this book. I’ve chatted it up to several people, including The Chemist and The Biochemist, as well as several colleagues. A+
4. The Hollow by Nora Roberts. Contemporary. I don’t think that NR can write a bad book; this one wasn’t bad, but if felt unfinished to me, as if maybe the three books in this trilogy would’ve been better served by being combined into a single large release. B-/C+
5. The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran. Victorian historical, debut. C+/C. The book felt schizophrenic – the first half and second half were so utterly different. Characters were extremes – utterly evil or too good; heroine wasn’t TSTL but she was dumber than a box of rocks about some things; suspense subplot was extraneous.
6. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris. Fantasy. B-/C+. Mentioned here.
7. The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer. Discussed here.
8. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. Suspense. A-. The tale of a serial killer narrated by another serial killer – macabre and darkly funny. Even as I enjoyed it, I felt uncomfortable being entertained by it.
9. The Prince of Bagram Prison by Alex Carr. Contemporary, general fiction. A. Still thinking about this one.
Rereads:
10. Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold
11. Legacy by Lois McMaster Bujold
DNF:
12. A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole. I’ve read a lot about how Cole switches gender roles, but Emmaline struck me as a typical limp dishrag heroine.
13. The Book of the Flame (Samarai Girl) by Carrie Asai. I thought this was the first book of the series, but it wasn’t – it picked up wherever the last book ended, and did not provide a good background. Felt lost so I gave up.
14. Fallen by Erin McCarthy. I was suckered in by the gorgeous cover.
15. More Than A Governess by Sarah Mallory. Mary Sue heroine + cardboard hero + pointless suspense subplot + stereotypical children. I don’t think there were any possible clichés omitted by the author.
1. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. Nonfiction. Discussed here.
2. A Lady’s Secret by Jo Beverley. Georgian historical, road romance. Good; I'm finished with the Mallorens, though.
3. Passage by Lois McMaster Bujold. Fantasy. I don’t think I could possibly squee enough to convey my love for this book. I’ve chatted it up to several people, including The Chemist and The Biochemist, as well as several colleagues. A+
4. The Hollow by Nora Roberts. Contemporary. I don’t think that NR can write a bad book; this one wasn’t bad, but if felt unfinished to me, as if maybe the three books in this trilogy would’ve been better served by being combined into a single large release. B-/C+
5. The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran. Victorian historical, debut. C+/C. The book felt schizophrenic – the first half and second half were so utterly different. Characters were extremes – utterly evil or too good; heroine wasn’t TSTL but she was dumber than a box of rocks about some things; suspense subplot was extraneous.
6. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris. Fantasy. B-/C+. Mentioned here.
7. The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer. Discussed here.
8. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. Suspense. A-. The tale of a serial killer narrated by another serial killer – macabre and darkly funny. Even as I enjoyed it, I felt uncomfortable being entertained by it.
9. The Prince of Bagram Prison by Alex Carr. Contemporary, general fiction. A. Still thinking about this one.
Rereads:
10. Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold
11. Legacy by Lois McMaster Bujold
DNF:
12. A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole. I’ve read a lot about how Cole switches gender roles, but Emmaline struck me as a typical limp dishrag heroine.
13. The Book of the Flame (Samarai Girl) by Carrie Asai. I thought this was the first book of the series, but it wasn’t – it picked up wherever the last book ended, and did not provide a good background. Felt lost so I gave up.
14. Fallen by Erin McCarthy. I was suckered in by the gorgeous cover.
15. More Than A Governess by Sarah Mallory. Mary Sue heroine + cardboard hero + pointless suspense subplot + stereotypical children. I don’t think there were any possible clichés omitted by the author.