A compilation of SOME of the randomness I've recorded about my reading over the past several months

Title: A Silent Voice aka Koe no Katachi

Author: Yoshitoki Oima [MyAnimeList]

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Series: A Silent Voice, Vol. 1

ISBN: 9781632360564

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

I saw it on Wowbrary.  The description sounded intriguing.

Comments:

So this first volume is primarily back story as to what happened in 6 years earlier between Shoya and Shoko, prior to Shoko transferring to another school.  I was a little too interested in what comes next, so in addition to requesting the library purchase the next several volumes, I also looked up the overall story arc.  I now know what is supposed to happen in general terms.  Hopefully that doesn't ruin the rest for me.

Update: I haven't read any more yet, but they won't be ruined when I do, because I've already forgotten what I looked up.

Title: Indexing

Author: Seanan McGuire [Website Bio 1][Website Bio 2][Website Bio 3][Facebook][Twitter]

Publisher: 47North

Series: Indexing, Bk 1

ISBN: 9781477809600

Length: 404 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

I've been reading a bit by this author.  While I was waiting on more from the October Daye and InCryptid series, I decided to read this.

Comments:

Took me 1 or 2 "chapters" (it was originally a Kindle serial) to really get into it, but it's a pretty fascinating concept that fairy tales are these negative types that you can be stuck in if your life has certain similarities or like characteristics or events.  I look forward to reading the next one, Indexing: Reflections.

Update: Thoughts on  Indexing: Reflections have already been posted because I wasn't paying attention...

Title: Roadside Magic

Author: Lilith Saintcrow [Website][Facebook][Twitter] aka Lili St. Crow

Publisher: Orbit

Series: Gallow and Ragged, Bk 2

ISBN: 9780316277877

Length: 315 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

I've enjoyed this author's work in the past, and read the first book in this series.

Comments:

I'm not always good with Faerie stories.  I've been reading more lately, but they can be difficult for me.  This is one whose world is especially troublesome for me, because I start to feel "trapped" if you will in all the bad events and "surrounded" by all these characters who are horrible and don't allow the primary characters, Gallow and Ragged, to escape.

 I found myself especially frustrated, because I was not even given the relief of the story ending.  Rather than individual stories that are resolved by the end (even if their is still a larger arcing story in progress), as I have come to expect of series, this ser ...

Update: I literally left that mid-word.   I think I was about to say more about it being cliffhanger, or no real ending.  But I'm not sure.

Title: Say I Love You. aka Suki tte Ii na yo.


Author: Kanae Hazuki [MyAnimeList]

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Series: Say I Love You. Volumes 1 - 5

ISBN:
9781612626024
9781612626031
9781612626048
9781612626055
9781612626062

Obtained: Library Copy

Why these books?:

Comments:

I never recorded comments at the time of reading this.  So by memory: This series almost crosses into too much for me (content-wise), but I found myself curious about the "what next"?  Unfortunately, by the time the rest of the series came in for me (I had to put them on hold), I was out of the country.  I lost that push, but I'll still follow up eventually.

Title: Grave Visions

Author: Kalayna Price [Website][Facebook][Twitter]

Publisher: ROC Fantasy

Series: Alex Craft, Bk 4

ISBN: 9780451416575

Length: 331 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

Have enjoyed the rest of the series.

Comments:

It's about time!  I read it within a day of it finally coming in, and was eagerly awaiting the latest release date before that.  Hope the next one is a bit more timely.

Update: Short but sweet, right?

Title: The Obsession

Author: Nora Roberts [Website] [Facebook] aka Eleanor Marie Robertson Aufem-Brinke Wilder aka J. D. Robb aka Sarah Hardesty aka Jill March

Publisher: Berkley Books

ISBN: 9780399175169

Length: 453 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

New NR, need I say more?

Comments:

Great, intense intro.  Good characters... they fall within NR template.  I guessed the bad guy with the first murder.

Update: Again with the short clip.  But better than nothing.

Title: Bitter Bite

Author: Jennifer Estep [Website][Facebook][Twitter]

Publisher: Pocket Books Urban Fantasy

Series: Elemental Assassin, Bk 14

ISBN: 9781501111273

Length: 374 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

Love this series.

Comments:

Oh, Finn!!!! This one had me very grumbly.  Poor Gin.


Update: This one is brief because otherwise I'd be rambling nonstop spoilers.

Trailer Park Fae

Title: Trailer Park Fae [Amazon]

Author: Lilith Saintcrow [Website][Facebook][Twitter] aka Lili St. Crow

Publisher: Orbit

Series: Gallow & Ragged, Bk 1

ISBN: 9780316277853

Length: 309 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

It looked interesting and I've enjoyed Lilith Saintcrow's books in the past.

Quick notes jotted on my phone:

Haven't read this author in awhile.
Fairies - eh. Mixed feelings.
Really liked Gallow and Ragged though.
Fairies! eh!
Looking forward to more.

Here we go, now... Here, here, here we go...

Sorry about the title.  I have a stupid boy band song stuck in my head.  Anyway... on to what I've been reading...

Reckoning by Lili St. Crow (personal copy via J. Kaye - thanks!)

Going into this I knew that J. Kaye felt this was the best of the series, but questions aren't answered, and a reviewer on pbs said it was their least favorite, but too many loose ends.  Complete opposite opinions but on one thing everyone agreed.  Now for my take... It's neither my favorite nor my least favorite.  I enjoyed it just as I've enjoyed them all.  I can guess about some of the loose ends.  Because this is a YA series and you don't have all the answers when you're a YA. 
Since I'm so motivated by characters, though, lets discuss them... I wanted Dru to treat Ash better.  To view him as more than a puppy or toddler, but a friend.  I was dissapointed in how that aspect worked.  I just can't decide on Christophe.  I never loved him, and I don't think I ever will, but I came the closest to being okay with him in this book.  I stopped loving Graves after the first book, but the insight to him in this one helped me remember why I had.  Even if the changes in him make me think I never could love him again.  I don't know what to say about Dru herself.

Artistic License by Julie Hyzy (ebook free through Sony Reader Store)

I own several of Julie Hyzy's backlist, but this is the first I've actually read.  I enjoyed it.  I mostly liked Annie, minus some stupid moments w/ her ex. ... I didn't like her ex at all.  Overall, I liked the story.  It's categorized as a mystery, and I don't know how accurate I'd say that is, but still...










"Clever is as Clever Does" by Linsey Lanier (ebook short story free through Sony Reader Store - still currently free in multiple e-formats - I've linked to Smashwords)

The second of the Clever Detective shorts.  It was fun just like the first.  I really want to read the third "Cleverest of Them All" but unlike the first two, it's not free.  So it's only $0.99... I have not paid for a single e-book yet.  I might have to break down and make this my first.  Very frustrating.  But that tells you something about how fun they are, right?  Try the first one.  And try reading it out loud in a dramatic fashion.  Seriously.  Maybe you'll be as hooked as me.

Heaven is for Heroes by P J Sharon (ebook free through the Trick or Treat event this past Halloween)

Overall, I liked this story.  It's a young adult book, and it can be difficult to remember that when the characters are going off to war, being killed and/or injured, etc.  Then you think about how soldiers really do go overseas and fight that young and you get chills.  Anyway, it's a very emotionally driven story.











I've been trying to work on The Roman Hat Mystery (Ellery Queen) for the Vintage Mystery Challenge but it's slow going, even though I like it so far.

We've more books to conquer! Onward ho!

I got some more action in my reading this week....

Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassin, Bk 4) by Jennifer Estep (library copy)
AND
Spider's Revenge (Elemental Assassin, Bk 5) by Jennifer Estep (library copy)

I'll say again what I've said before (in case you missed it?)... I favor thief and assassin books.  Since it fits the latter, this series already has a head up.  But on top of that, Gin is a great character.  She can be cool and get the job done, but she has a heart, etc. underneath it all.  I really like her.  And Owen (and I am soo glad she settled into things with him) and the other characters that make up her "family" are just good characters all the way around.  That extends to the bad guys too.  There isn't any quibbling.  No "I like this character even though they're actually supposed to be the bad guy."  No.  These bad guys are straight up despicable.  There's no liking them.  I can't wait to see where the story goes from here in By a Thread.

Defiance  (Strange Angels, Bk 4) by Lili St. Crow aka Lilith Saintcrow (library copy)

I couldn't remember huge chunks of the story with such a gap in time between when I read Jealousy and Defiance.  It took me a bit to catch up and get with the program since St. Crow jumps straight into the action from the very beginning.  I liked the overall story, I especially like Ash.  He's probably my favorite character in the whole book.  I was irritated with Dru that she made this one stupid and, to me, obvious mistake (can't say more without spoilers), but overall she's getting better with her new circumstances.  Now I'm all set to read Reckoning.

The Demon's Librarian

Title: The Demon's Librarian

Author: Lilith Saintcrow

Publisher: ImaJinn

Copyright Date: 2009

Print Date: February 2009

ISBN: 9781933417448

Pages: 218

Book Description (from back cover):

Demon's are preying on schoolchildren in her city, so Francesca Barnes does what any red-blooded librarian would do — she does some research and goes hunting. But the books she finds in a secret cache don’t tell her the whole story. Chess has no idea what she’s just stepped into, or just how special she is.

Orion is Drakul, part demon, and a loyal servant of the Order. He doesn’t expect a motorcycle-riding librarian to be messing around with demonic forces, and he doesn’t expect her to smell so ———— good. But Ryan’s got bigger problems. His partner has disappeared, and the forces of Darkness are rising.

Now Chess is Ryan’s only hope of finding his partner, and Ryan is Chess’s only hope of survival. Because the demons now know Chess exists, and that she is the heir to a long-lost power that could push back their dark tide. If Ryan can just keep her alive long enough, she might just be the key to destroying the demons completely.

But Ryan doesn’t know he’s been betrayed by the very Order he serves. And if Chess does by some miracle survive, he won’t ever be able to touch her again…

Comments:

I first heard about this book because of its inspiration. That is, Wendy @ The Misadventures of Super Librarian mentioned her role (wanting a strong librarian heroine) and Lilith Saintcrow's response (writing this).

So, being interested in reading books about strong librarian protagonists myself (having aspired to the librarian role — despite continued lack of success), and knowing I really like Lilith Saintcrow's writing anyway (I've read her Society duology, the Dante Valentine books, the first Jill Kismet book, and the first two of her Lili St. Crow YA books), I've certainly been interested in reading this.

I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed reading about Chess and Ryan, their relationship, the fight against evil, etc. I enjoyed the fact that while Chess was strong, that didn't automatically make Ryan weak. And I liked that while Ryan wasn't weak, he also wasn't that super alpha type. And, to be honest (though I know others wouldn't agree w/ this), I liked reading a strong book w/ lovely romance and no sex scenes.

First Signing, Review Requests, etc.

So you don't think I've abandoned my poor blog (again), I'm going to give some general updates.

First, I'm hoping to go to my first author signing this coming weekend and for a pretty big name in paranormal romance. I'm excited, I'm nervous, and I'm making a weekend of it (seeing a MS/HS/College friend, visiting two cities where I went to school, etc.). I'm also scrambling trying to remember the etiquette (I've "heard") for that kind of event. I know you're supposed to buy something (I'll be purchasing her most recent book). But what else (signing of backlist copies, etc.)? I suspect I'll be doing some looking into that.

Second, I finally (about time!)read The Demon's Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow and should be posting my thoughts soon. My first such post in over two months. I think I feel nerves coming on...

Third, 1 day after I post that I'm back from my unannounced hiatus and I have a request to review a book (w/ attached PDF file). *Blinks* I had a fairly consistant (or at least I tried) blog for over a year with no such requests... The closest being when I mentioned a book I was planning to read on the "What Are You Reading on Mondays" meme; the author asked that I review it when I read it. Since I had already checked it out on my own that hardly counts.

Anyway, this author said something along the lines of seeing my "lovely" blog. I can't help but wonder if he saw (or thought through) how long it has been since I reviewed anything and that (presumably) most of my readership wouldn't really be following me again (yet, I hope). But in any case, the story looks interesting. It kinda fits the type of thing I read, so once I get my Reader charged and copy the file to it... we'll see. I only mention it now because the timing seems so strange.

Betrayals

Title: Betrayals

Author: Lili St. Crow (Lilith Saintcrow)

Publisher: Razorbill

Copyright Date: 2009

Print Date: November 2009

ISBN: 9781595142528

Pages: 296

Series: 2nd book in the Strange Angels series

Book Description (from back cover):

No more little miss nice girl

The Real World is a frightening place. Just ask sixteen-year-old orphan Dru Anderson, a tough girl who has taken down her fair share of bad guys She's armed, dangerous, and ready to kill first and ask questions later. So it's gonna take her a while to figure out who she can trust...

Poor Dru. Her parents are long gone. Her best (okay, only) friend Graves has been bitten by a werewulf. And she’s just learned that the blood flowing through her veins isn’t entirely human. Now Dru's strange and hansome savior, Christophe, has her hidden away at a secret Schola for djamphir and wulfen teens. Trouble is, she's the only girl in the place. The really bad news? Dru’s killer instinct says that one of her schoolmates wants her dead.

And with all eyes on her, discovering a traitor within
the Order could mean a lot more than social suicide. . .

The Author Speaks:

(This video is from when the first book, Strange Angels, came out. Since there isn't a trailer for Betrayals, and I think this relates to the series as a whole, I decided to include it.)



Comments:

I read this as part of a Twitter Read-Along w/ J. Kaye (@J_Kaye).

While the first book felt like it was all action, this one radiated tension. What's going to happen? When are things going to happen? Is everything going to work out? Who's bad and who's good? Is this about the past or the future or both? What other secrets have yet to be exposed? etc... Question after question. Some are answered. Some are left for the reader to decide. (In particular, this is true of the who's bad and who's good question.) And most bring more questions.

Dru is growing up and becoming a bit more interested in having a say about her own life. It isn't a sudden and unrealistic change, but it does happen. (I was so relieved.) Graves is coming into his own as well. I'm worried about his new-found power/status going to his head, but he seems to be handling it decently for now. Christophe is ever the enigma, despite some new revelations. Maybe that's why I can't completely like him as a character. Extreme curiosity and an enigma with few answers and more questions don't necessarily go together. =)

As with the first, I enjoyed this book — despite the fact that I was a little reluctant to pick this one up once I finally had a copy available (I was worried I might be disappointed.) I am looking forward to exploring Dru's story further with the third book, Jealousy. And I do have a bit of a wait ahead of me.

Strange Angels

Title: Strange Angels

Author: Lili St. Crow (Lilith Saintcrow)

Publisher: Razorbill

Copyright Date: 2009

Print Date: May 2009

ISBN: 9781595142511

Pages: 293

Series: 1st book in the Strange Angels series

Book Description (from back cover):

Dad? Zombie.
Mom? Long gone.
Me? Well, that's the scary part.

The Real World is a frightening place. Just ask sixteen-year-old orphan Dru Anderson, a tough girl who has taken down her fair share of bad guys She's armed, dangerous, and ready to kill first and ask questions later. So it's gonna take her a while to figure out who she can trust...

Dru Anderson has been "strange" for as long as she can remember, traveling from town to town with her father to hunt the things that go bump in the night. It's a weird life, but a good one — until it all explodes in an icy, broken-down Dakota town, when a hungry zombie busts through her kitchen door. Alone, terrified, and trapped, Dru's going to need every inch of her wit and training to stay alive. The monsters have decided to hunt back — and this time, Dru's on their menu. Chances of survival? Slim to none.

If she can't last until sunup, it's game over...

Comments:

I read this as part of a Twitter Read-Along w/ J. Kaye (@J_Kaye) and Bella (@bellamcguire). I suspected from the couple lines I read the day I first checked it out from the library that I would have no problem getting into it. And I was right.

Dru is a likeable character, though she holds herself apart from her peers — after all, she has secrets they know nothing about. Graves (a classmate that pushes his way into her life, scary secrets or no) was even more likeable (IMO). Another character that shows up, Christophe, well — he wasn't a favorite of mine (I thought he was too manipulative, too arrogant, and to be honest, I was afraid it was falling into some Vampire trumps Werewolf line), but my fellow tweeters liked him, so ... A matter of taste, I suppose.

The story itself was intense. Action-filled, with some small lulls that allowed the characters (and reader) to regroup. Definitely not a slow book, not even in those lulls I mentioned.

I did have a couple things that bothered me a little. Mostly... Dru is so "the adults can handle it" / "everything's better with the adults handling it." I just couldn't get that. Not that teens can't lean on adults, but she wanted to give up any and all say in what was happening around her. Maybe it was the fear, but... no, I guess I'm too curious (not to mention my control issues) about everything to understand anyone wanting to completely drop out of something like this — especially considering her personal interest and investment in the results of everything going on around her.

In general, I enjoyed reading this book, and am looking forward to reading the next in the series (Betrayals). (Speaking of... It's in at the library! I can start once I pick it up...well, and once finals are over.)

Lili St. Crow/Lilith Saintcrow Twitter Read-Along Intro

Come Monday I'll be participating in a Twitter Read-Along w/ J. Kaye (@ J. Kaye's Book Blog) for the first-in-series YA book Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow (Lilith Saintcrow)...This will be my first read-along on Twitter, and I'm a little nervous. Please feel free to participate. If you're inclined to do so, or if you'd just like to follow along, search for and/or use #StrangeAngels.

Doug (@ SciFiGuy.ca) recently interviewed Lilith Saintcrow.  (He also offered a giveaway of the 2nd book in the Strange Angels series.  Unfortunately, that offer has expired.) Anyway, if you're interested in learning/hearing more from the author... visit here.  Or of course, you can visit Saintcrow's website/journal here.

I've read several of Lilith Saintcrow's adult books (all of the Dante Valentine series [5], the Society books [2], the first of the Jill Kismet books). She has several other books I hope to read in the future. One isThe Demon's Librarian (Inspired by blogger Wendy @ The Misadventures of Super Librarian) — need I say more? Librarian is the key word in that title. Another is Steelflower which, if I understand correctly, has a thief and assassin as the main character. I have a thing for thief and assassin protagonists. Of course I plan to finish the Jill Kismet series. Plus I may read the other books. Etc., Etc.

Anyway, this will be my first time reading one of her YA works. I expect I'll enjoy it, but that it may be somewhat dark, if not this book then later in the series (based on what I've read of her other books and from the interview mentioned above).