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September reading list
September turned out to be a pretty good month, reading-wise. Twenty-five books begun, twenty finished.
The ones in blue are the ones I really liked would recommend without reservation. The ones in green are ones that I liked or that made me think and which I would recommend with some caveats or conditions. The ones in regular black font were fine...I enjoyed them as I read, but they weren't necessarily keepers or books that will linger in my mind.
1. Riding the Storm by Sydney Croft. Urban fantasy & erotic romance. D. Too much pointless sex, not enough plot or character development.
2. Mission Al Jazeera by Josh Rushing. Nonfiction. B.
3. The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani. Historical fiction. B+. Set in 17th century Persia, told by an anonymous young woman who wants to be a carpet designer. Many thanks to Michelle Moran, who contact me offlist and recommended it when I asked for vacation reads.
4. Muggles & Magic by George Beahm. DNF
5. Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea. Saudi chick lit. Reviewed here.
6. The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther. Gen fic or women's fiction. B. Reviewed here.
7. Knight's Challenge by Kate Rothwell. Fantasy & erotic romance. B. Kate was kind enough to send me a copy when I sent out my whinge for book recommendations, and I liked it. [Enough that I bought a copy, too.]
8. The Prince's Convenient Bride by Robyn Donald. HP, category. C-.
9. Such A Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess. YA. B+
10. Supernatural: Nevermore by Keith R.A. deCandido. Urban fantasy, TV tie in. B.
11. Craving Jamie by Emma Darcy. HP, category. C.
12. Hard & Fast by Lisa Renee Jones. Blaze, category. B.
13. Tangled Up in You by Rachel Gibson. Contemporary. C for what I read...but DNF. Same story as See Jane Score. 14. Trouble by Ann Christopher. Contemporary, black romance. B for what I read...but DNF. Hit some hot buttons.
15. Slip Knot by Linda Greenlaw. Mystery. DNF. Not bad, I just didn't feel engaged in the story, so I set it aside.
16. The Edification of Sonya Jones by JD Someone. YA, urban fiction. DNF. Hated the heroine/protagonist. I think the Kimani Tru line is not for me, based on the two books I've read. Mostly, I thought the protagonist/heroines were dumber than tree stumps and couldn't get past their stupidity. Is it fair to decide that about a whole line after only two books? Maybe not, but the decision was made easy by the TPB prices rather than mmp prices.
17. Back from Hell by Shiloh Walker. Erotic romance & paranormal (or urban fantasy). D+. I'm kind of disappointed, because I wanted to like this one. I like Ms. Walker's online personality; her comments are always reasonable and thoughtful, so I wanted to like this book (it's the second I've tried by her). I thought a lot more worldbuilding was needed, and I found the heroine's rape by an incubus to be neither sexy nor romantic. The amnesia so she and her SO (and the reader?) could pretend it had never happened? Made it worse.
18. A Touch of the Devil by Ann Weale. HP, category. Very dated. Set in Spain. Liked it a lot, although the ending felt abrupt.
19. Klondike Wedding by Kate Bridges. American Western historical. B-.
20. Moon Over Tokyo by Siri L. Mitchell. Contemporary, christian fiction. Reviewed here. Waivering between a B and a B+.
21. Firestorm by Rachel Caine. Urban fantasy. B. I think I'm finished with this series.
22. Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward. Paranormal romance. C-. It didn't work for me as a romance, really.
23. Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik. Alternate history & fantasy. I love Temeraire as a character, and the best parts of these books is the occasional passage that reveals his & Lawrence's devotion to one another. The adventure? Meh, I'm not much in to military history, and since I'm guessing that Novik is not going to completely change European history, Bonaparte will eventually be defeated after many adventures. But I don't think I'm going to stick around for them all. B.
24. Istanbul Nights by Joanna Mansell. HP, category. Extremely dated with several painful stereotypes and cliches. I like the idea of the book -- set in Istanbul! Exotic, history-rich city! But in the end, meh. C+.
25. The Cubicle Next Door by Siri L. Mitchell. Contemporary, christian fiction. Loved this book. A keeper. Borrowed it from the library, but now I must find a copy to call my own. A-.
The ones in blue are the ones I really liked would recommend without reservation. The ones in green are ones that I liked or that made me think and which I would recommend with some caveats or conditions. The ones in regular black font were fine...I enjoyed them as I read, but they weren't necessarily keepers or books that will linger in my mind.
1. Riding the Storm by Sydney Croft. Urban fantasy & erotic romance. D. Too much pointless sex, not enough plot or character development.
2. Mission Al Jazeera by Josh Rushing. Nonfiction. B.
3. The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani. Historical fiction. B+. Set in 17th century Persia, told by an anonymous young woman who wants to be a carpet designer. Many thanks to Michelle Moran, who contact me offlist and recommended it when I asked for vacation reads.
4. Muggles & Magic by George Beahm. DNF
5. Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea. Saudi chick lit. Reviewed here.
6. The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther. Gen fic or women's fiction. B. Reviewed here.
7. Knight's Challenge by Kate Rothwell. Fantasy & erotic romance. B. Kate was kind enough to send me a copy when I sent out my whinge for book recommendations, and I liked it. [Enough that I bought a copy, too.]
8. The Prince's Convenient Bride by Robyn Donald. HP, category. C-.
9. Such A Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess. YA. B+
10. Supernatural: Nevermore by Keith R.A. deCandido. Urban fantasy, TV tie in. B.
11. Craving Jamie by Emma Darcy. HP, category. C.
12. Hard & Fast by Lisa Renee Jones. Blaze, category. B.
13. Tangled Up in You by Rachel Gibson. Contemporary. C for what I read...but DNF. Same story as See Jane Score. 14. Trouble by Ann Christopher. Contemporary, black romance. B for what I read...but DNF. Hit some hot buttons.
15. Slip Knot by Linda Greenlaw. Mystery. DNF. Not bad, I just didn't feel engaged in the story, so I set it aside.
16. The Edification of Sonya Jones by JD Someone. YA, urban fiction. DNF. Hated the heroine/protagonist. I think the Kimani Tru line is not for me, based on the two books I've read. Mostly, I thought the protagonist/heroines were dumber than tree stumps and couldn't get past their stupidity. Is it fair to decide that about a whole line after only two books? Maybe not, but the decision was made easy by the TPB prices rather than mmp prices.
17. Back from Hell by Shiloh Walker. Erotic romance & paranormal (or urban fantasy). D+. I'm kind of disappointed, because I wanted to like this one. I like Ms. Walker's online personality; her comments are always reasonable and thoughtful, so I wanted to like this book (it's the second I've tried by her). I thought a lot more worldbuilding was needed, and I found the heroine's rape by an incubus to be neither sexy nor romantic. The amnesia so she and her SO (and the reader?) could pretend it had never happened? Made it worse.
18. A Touch of the Devil by Ann Weale. HP, category. Very dated. Set in Spain. Liked it a lot, although the ending felt abrupt.
19. Klondike Wedding by Kate Bridges. American Western historical. B-.
20. Moon Over Tokyo by Siri L. Mitchell. Contemporary, christian fiction. Reviewed here. Waivering between a B and a B+.
21. Firestorm by Rachel Caine. Urban fantasy. B. I think I'm finished with this series.
22. Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward. Paranormal romance. C-. It didn't work for me as a romance, really.
23. Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik. Alternate history & fantasy. I love Temeraire as a character, and the best parts of these books is the occasional passage that reveals his & Lawrence's devotion to one another. The adventure? Meh, I'm not much in to military history, and since I'm guessing that Novik is not going to completely change European history, Bonaparte will eventually be defeated after many adventures. But I don't think I'm going to stick around for them all. B.
24. Istanbul Nights by Joanna Mansell. HP, category. Extremely dated with several painful stereotypes and cliches. I like the idea of the book -- set in Istanbul! Exotic, history-rich city! But in the end, meh. C+.
25. The Cubicle Next Door by Siri L. Mitchell. Contemporary, christian fiction. Loved this book. A keeper. Borrowed it from the library, but now I must find a copy to call my own. A-.