Marked by P. C. and Kristin Cast (House of Night, Book 1)
Marked has an interesting premise, but it’s let down by preachy writing, stilted dialogue and heavy-handed foreshadowing. (But it’s still not as bad as Twilight.)
When 16-year old Zoey Redbird is Marked as a vampyre, she leaves her family and friends to live in the House of Night—referred to by human kids as the Vampyre Finishing School—to spend 4 years learning about her new life and undergoing profound physical changes. Although she’s Marked, there’s no guarantee that she’ll survive the Change from human to vampyre.
On the way to the House of Night, Zoey has a vision of the vampire Goddess, Nyx, who tells Zoey that she’ll be the first of Nyx’s true disciples. But first Zoey has to figure out her new high school. The school’s most powerful student, Aphrodite, has it in for her. And what’s more, Zoey kind of likes Erik, who happens to be Aphrodite’s not-by-choice-ex-boyfriend.
It soon becomes apparent that Zoey has powers beyond that of a newly Marked
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The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke (Watergivers, Book 1)
It’s been a long time since I read a fantasy novel in which everything about the world felt original and so utterly fascinating that even 640 pages didn’t seem enough. I suppose wishing for a stronger love story would be asking for too much.
When water is scarce and rationed to the last drop, the ability to sense and manipulate water is to wield power. Granthon, the Cloudmaster, is dying, and there’s no stormlord to take over the responsibility of summoning water out of the sea, forming them into clouds, and directing the rain to fall where it’s needed. In an effort to avert an ecological and political disaster, he sends his most powerful rainlords to scour the land for any children with water sensitivity.
Their search brings together forces that will change the land forever. Shale, a dirty, uneducated Gibber boy who displays remarkable water talent may be their best hope for survival. Terelle, a runaway girl, discovers a talent that not even the rainlords understand, but which can alter their destiny. The changing political climate
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The Eternal Kiss: Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire edited by Trisha Telep
If you’re thinking of reading The Eternal Kiss to wean yourself off a Twilight high, think again. Pitting Twilight against this feast of words and emotions would be like comparing Passion Pop with a full-bodied Shiraz.
The Eternal Kiss is a collection of 13 vampire stories for young adults written by some of the most popular authors in the genre. The stories in this luscious anthology are indeed bound by blood, but it’s the complexity of desire that gives the authors room to flex their skills.
This isn’t a romance anthology, but most of the stories incorporate some flavour of love, lust or both. Desire wars with reason, and the passion of youth is explored—sometimes tenderly, sometimes with violence. The authors offer different points of view—guys and girls, vampires and humans, predator and prey.
Most touch on one’s sense of identity and asks the question, What makes us unique? There’s no common sense of morality, and this is what makes the anthology, as a whole, so compelling.
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Skin Trade by Laurell K Hamilton (Anita Black, Vampire Hunter, Book 17)
I have some good news and some bad news about Skin Trade, the seventeenth book in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. The good news is there are only 2 properly defined sex scenes in the whole book, and the bad news is there are only 2 properly defined sex scenes in the whole book.
OK, so I’m conflicted about this series, but I keep buying the damn books soon after their release, just not in hardback anymore.
Anita arrives at her office to find a head in a box sent by the vampire Vittorio (the stripper-killer in Incubus Dreams) from Las Vegas and is on a flight there within hours. When she arrives, she finds that her preternatural reputation has preceded her and she is held for several hours, having to justify her powers, humanity, knowledge and skill to the local law enforcement. Given that she is known for living with the Master Vampire of her city and her ties to the shapeshifter community, the cops’ suspiciousness towards her seems reasonable, but it reads like short, pretty little female Anita manfully holding her own in a pissing contest with the big boys, and it slows down the book’s pacing.
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Romance authors in the media
Australian romance author Anne Gracie was interviewed on the 9am show with David & Kim (click on Entertainment, then Books).
Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan, the women behind popular romance blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and authors of Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels, were interviewed by Alan Brough on ABC Radio in Melbourne. Hilarity ensues.
Coming not so soon
I’ve been told that the Australian release date for Anna Campbell’s next novel, Captive of Sin, is December 16. Just in time for Christmas, but still so much longer than the US date. I don’t know if I can wait that long, to be honest. I haven’t seen any images of the cover yet.
Parallel import restriction debates continue
The Productivity Commission was due to hand in its report regarding restrictions on the parallel importation of books to Australia on Wednesday, but they’ve asked for and have been granted an extension until June. Until then, I expect we’ll hear more about the issue in the media. For some good arguments from both sides:
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The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
I first heard of The Forest of Hands and Teeth over at the Whatever, where author Carrie Ryan talks about how she got the idea for her debut novel. (Tell me that’s not one of the most romantic story idea stories ever.) When I saw it again at Tez Says, I emailed Hachette for a review copy because I loved the premise and the US cover. The Twilight-esque Aussie cover is a much more elegant black with a red graphic that looks like a flower but in fact reminds me of bandages on a mummy. (Different kind of undead, I know.) Ryan’s writing is at times so beautiful, and the novel begins with such heartbreak, that it’s impossible not to get caught up in Mary’s narrative. And even though I was disappointed by the story’s lack of depth, The Forest of Hands and Teeth kept me reading furiously until the end.
Mary lives a simple existence in an isolated village surrounded by forest. It’s a forest she can never set foot in—the Forest of Hands and Teeth—because beyond the village fence are the Unconsecrated, humans infected with a virus that turns them into the walking dead. Mary’s father disappeared into the forest one day, and the story begins with a glimpse of how this has affected her family and how, despite her grim surroundings,
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Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre (Corine Solomon, Book 1)
Believe it or not, I don’t read urban fantasy. But an autobuy author is an autobuy author, so when Ann Aguirre’s Blue Diablo turned up at Galaxy, I just had to have it without knowing anything about the plot. It turns out that Aguirre’s new series uses Mexican beliefs in the supernatural, and this is only one of the many things I love about the book.
Corine Solomon is a handler. She has the ability to touch an object and see its history—or sometimes its future—but it’s a gift that comes with a price. After her last job almost killed her, she left her life, her past and especially her lover to set up a small shop in Mexico City where no one knows about her ability. So when her ex suddenly appears, her dreams of a safe, comfortable existence are shattered.
Chance asks for Corine’s help to find a missing person—and it’s not a request she can refuse because it’s someone they both love. But working closely with Chance isn’t going to be easy because: a) Corine isn’t fully over him yet; b) Chance says he never got over her and wants her back; c) they can’t seem to tell each other what they need; and d) Chance has his own gift that more often than not puts Corine in danger.
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Grimspace by Ann Aguirre (Jax Series, Book 1)
I’m late for my re-read challenge review, but I’m blaming Ann Aguirre. I’ve re-read Grimspace at least three times before, and each time, I’m compelled to read every word to savour the story of Jax and March.
Sirantha Jax is the sole survivor of a terrible spaceship crash that killed not only a prominent dignitary but also Jax’s lover. Jax isn’t sure what happened, and she’s starting to believe that maybe it was her fault. In any case, it looks like she’s going to be the scapegoat. So when a stranger offers to spring her out of the pyschiatric facility she’s being kept in, Jax has nothing to lose.
But to get out, the rescue ship needs a navigator and Jax is the only one on board. Jax’s genetic makeup allows her to navigate through grimspace, a kind of dimension that allows people to bend space so they can travel great distances. Jax has the ability to sense the beacons in grimspace—landmarks or doorways that mark where in grimspace you are. But to do that, Jax has to be plugged into the ship with the pilot. It’s an intimate relationship, one that allows jumper and pilot to be in each other’s minds … and it’s too soon for Jax. Because the lover she lost had been her pilot,
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Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight Saga, Book 1)
For some reason, the Twilight craze swept right by me. Despite reading a lot of great reviews, it never struck me as a book that I desperately wanted to read. I was curious, though, and when the film came out, I finally put the book in reserve at the library so I could read it before I see the film.
Twilight has so many obvious flaws, and yet I couldn’t put it down. Here’s a sample of what went through my mind as I read this book:
Half of brain: Why are we still reading this?
Other half of brain: Shut up, I’m reading.
HoB: This is ridiculous
OHoB: OMG, so thrilled!
HoB: Teenage boys would never say that.
OHoB: Aw, so sweet…
HoB: Bella sucks. And why is her default reaction icy?
OHoB: She’s a nerd, but popular … it’s just the way I always though high school should’ve been.
HoB: Edward seems to scowl a lot. And smirk. Smirky teenage boys are beyond annoying.Read the rest of this post.
My Favorite Earthling by Susan Grant (Otherworldly Men, Book 2)
Jared Jasper is from a very close knit California political family on Earth. In the previous book, Your Planet or Mine (which you don’t have to read to get what’s happening), he helped his sister Jana and her man Calvin of Far Star, from the Coalition, saving the earth from invasion.
The Coalition consists of a vast political entity that rules a whole lot of planets. They are peaceful, and they worship the goddess, who descends directly from a line of goddess/rulers, unbroken from the very beginning of their history. Their goddesses do not live above them, literally or figuratively, but instead live with the people and are symbols of benevolence and of what they have.
The Coalition is perpetually at war with the Drakken horde, an evil and equally vast political entity—think the Empire in Star Wars—that is basically a military dictatorship which outlaws religious worship and has a fondness for going around killing things.
Earth is a very small part of this universe—it barely registers a bleep, and it’s not advanced enough to keep up, but somehow it gets swept up in all of it,
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