Flight into Fantasy

Greetings.

I thought that I would take a few moments to actually sit down and write my very first post to my very first blog. Or at least, the very first blog that I’ve posted to, ever. Actually, I believe that you get the idea.

Reading has always been a passion of mine from the very first book that I opened when I was knee-high to a bullfrog on a hot July day, to the works that I am now reading in my adult life. And while the books have changed, authors have become more daring, and life has gotten all the more interesting, one thing has always remained the same. The passion is still there. The need to soak myself in words and images as I am whisked away to a different place still fills me with awe, especially if the book is an excellent read. I hope that fire will be one that always continues to burn.

My first book series that I ever read was the Belgariad by David Eddings. And even though his works might be considered cliche–there’s even a whiny heroine–I still love his books. I devoured his books like I’d devour a cheesecake: without mercy. I finished a five book series in about three weeks. I think that I will have to do a review of his books for this site, but I fear that my eye might be a little too critical.

Now, I read a lot of romance novels. I also enjoy some fantasy. I also am a huge fan of romantic suspense novels as well as paranormal romances. I am always looking for a good book to get my grubby little paws on, so please feel free to mention some of your favorites.

Finally, I’d just like to say that reading unites us. There is nothing more powerful than words. They have the power to build up or tear down, stir the imagination or make you die of boredom and wonder just why you wasted your day reading a certain book. But most importantly, they have the power to transform. Happy reading!

Title: Virgin Slave, Barbarian King
Author: Louise Allen
Genre: Historical romance
Grade: C+
Reason for Reading: There was a *lot* of discussion earlier this year about this article, in which Julie Bindel accuses the romance genre of perpetuating misogyny and the oppression of women. Then, the scholarly folks over at Teach Me Tonight decided they would host an Internet extravaganza in which people could provide their opinions on the book. So I figured I’d come late to the party and, um, try and get a bit of traffic over here by riding the reviewing coat tails, as it were. Also, the time frame looks interesting and it’s not a setting I know anything about, so, who knows, maybe I’ll learn something.

Synopsis: Julia Livia Rufa is horrified when barbarians invade Rome and steal everything in
sight. But she doesn’t expect to be among the taken! As Wulfric’s woman, she’s ordered
to keep house for the uncivilized marauders. Soon, though, Julia realizes that she’s
more free as a slave than she ever was as a sheltered Roman virgin. It would be all
too easy to succumb to Wulfric’s quiet strength, and Julia wants him more than she’s
ever wanted anything. But Wulfric could one day be king, and Julia is a Roman slave.
What future can there be for two people from such different worlds?

My Thoughts: I went into this book with no great expectations. The unusual setting intrigued me, and I like the idea of reading about two people from various different cultures learning to coexist. I wasn’t expecting a misogynist screed about a woman’s place being in the kitchen being barefoot and pregnant. I was simply hoping for a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours.

I wasn’t disappointed, although the book didn’t really grab me the way a good book will do. In fact, I was able to take notes as I read in preparation for this blog post, which isn’t something I generally do with a book that’s working for me.

The characters are standard romance novel fare. Julia is a feisty, well-bred woman with a touch of the Mary Sue who has never thought much about her slaves and how she’s treated them before Wulfric shows up. Despite never having cooked or cleaned before, she takes to it with remarkable alacrity considering her circumstances, and of course she comes to see the Visigoths as a far superior culture.

Wulfric is equally derivitive. He’s a leader of men who is nonetheless kind to children, women and puppies, and he has the world’s most intelligent wolf as a companion and pet. For all that, I was expecting him to be a bit more forceful and, well, alpha than he actually was. Normally I adore beta heroes, but in this case I found Wulfric’s gentle patience with Julia a bit hard to believe at times.

The chemistry between these two characters also wasn’t much to write home about. I don’t really require all my romances to be full of teh pr0n, but in this book the sex scenes have a blink and you miss them kind of vibe.

But the real disappointment for me was the setting. I really wanted to learn more about Rome and the Visigoths, and I felt that this rather colorful time period was rather underutilized. It’s obvious that Ms. Allen did some research, and while I didn’t really want pages and pages of it crammed down my throat, I’d have liked a bit more.

What did work for me were Julia’s interactions with the other characters, particularly Wulfric’s squire, and Una, one of the women in the Visigoth camp. I also liked that Julia began to discover her resourcefulness in the end, and she rescued herself from a couple of bad situations.

Overall, this was definitely no more and no less than what I’d been expecting. It’s a pleasant read, although sadly a forgetable one. I’m not sure I’m going to look up Ms. Allen’s backlist, but I certainly don’t regret my impulsive decision to read this book.

I feel like this ought to be an eventful post because according to my stats this is the 666th post I have made to this blog. Naturally that doesn’t take into account all of the stuff I didn’t keep when I imported my book reviews from my LJ, but it still amuses me.

I feel like I ought to celebrate this fact somehow, but I can’t think of a way to do that, so I’ll just point it out.

Anyway, Lisabea is going to be hosting Man-Love Monday. I’m not much into the man-love myself, since I wish there were more F/F romances personally, and also I am sadly not capable of appreciating the eye candy,. But I am willing to be persuaded about good M/M romance.

I know it was Thursday yesterday, but I put the pro in procrastination, so I’m doing it today.

Here’s this week’s booking through Thursday question:

Last week we talked about the books you liked best from 2007. So this week, what with it being a new year, and all, we’re looking forward….

What new books are you looking forward to most in 2008? Something new being published this year? Something you got as a gift for the holidays? Anything in particular that you’re planning to read in 2008 that you’re looking forward to? A classic, or maybe a best-seller from 2007 that you’re waiting to appear in paperback?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Sadly, the books I would put here aren’t ones I’m ready for. I think there’s a new Marjorie Liu book out, but I just started the series. And I think the sixth Black Dagger Brotherhood book comes out in June, although I’m not really certain if that’s true. It could be that I am making that up.

But Nora Roberts’ Sign of Seven trilogy will all be published in the later part of this year, and since I really want to know how Nora Roberts does horror, I am hoping I will get to read them. I have the first book, but have dutifully not read it yet in anticipation of having the rest of the trilogy.

Title: Jacob: The Nightwalkers, Book 1
Author: Jacquelyn Frank
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Grade: C
Reason for Reading: Jane over at Dear Author made a throwaway comparison between Jacquelyn Frank and Meljean Brook over here, which inspired me to check out this series.
Synopsis: Jacob is the demon enforcer for his people. He keeps the human population safe from
those of his people that would do them harm. He knows his duty and does it well.
But, when it comes time for him to face his weakness in the form of human named Isabella
all bets are off. His heart awakens for the first time in centuries and only when
he holds Isabella does he feel completed. But, how can that be? It’s not until he
brings her back to his demon world that they learn the truth of Isabella’s existence
and its importance to Jacob as well as his people. But, will Isabella accept the
love he has to offer or will a mutual enemy destroy all?

My Thoughts: This is a difficult book to grade, because there were things I loved and there were things that irritated me. A lot of my problems with the book stemmed from the fact that I felt I was reading Christine Feehan-light. We have the demons, who are all seriously old-school, live in Gothic castles in England, have amazing powers, and eschew such things as contractions. And Isabella is a petite, delicate woman with masses of long, silky hair. There’s even the fact that Bella can’t be deprived of Jacob for too long because otherwise she’ll die.

Also, speaking of Bella, she very much has an April O’Neil vibe. Once she is immersed in the demon world, she is accepted wholeheartedly, with every other demon falling in love with the perfection that is her. And Jacob calls her his “little flower” and thinks of her in terms that were borderline squicky, describing her as small and delicate and soft and trusting, making her come across as more childlike than perhaps was meant. Jacob also refers to Bella, at one point as his “little enforcer” which completely undermined any sense of equality I thought might be achieved in their relationship, since statements like that come across as patronizing to me.
Another thing that bothered me was Bella’s easy acceptance of suddenly being thrust into demon culture. I suppose it shouldn’t have, since there is little indication that Bella has much of a life before she meets Jacob, except for her sister, who gets a few throwaway mentions now and then until the end of the book. At any rate, I would have liked for her to have been slightly less OK with the situation and suddenly developing this whole new life.

But there were things about the book that made it something more than a complete waste of time. For a delicate little flower of a Mary Sue, Bella’s OK as a character, and I liked Jacob, though I have read similar characters dozens of times. I also thought there were some interesting secondary characters, and was intrigued enough by the sequel bait presented here that I will eventually seek out the rest of the series. The prose is also blessedly normal, and the sex scenes are hot. And Bella does get some funny lines, though sometimes I did struggle to imagine people actually talking the way she did.

Overall, you could do worse than read this book. It’s a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours, provided you don’t analyze it too much.

I’m still futzing around with importing stuff, but I wanted to make sure I at least got in a bit of new content, so here, have my top ten favorite male and female characters I’ve met this year.

ETA: Duh. It might help if I listed the books from which these characters came. What, you couldn’t read my mind? How silly of you!
Top Five Female Characters

• 1. Eve Dallas from the In Death series by J. D. Robb – Loved her, flaws and all. She is strong and kicks ass, and yet, she is still very much a vulnerable woman.

• 2. Elli Quinn from the Miles Vorkosigan books – She keeps growing on me the longer I read the Vorkosigan books. She’s funny and snarky, and can shoot off a grenade launcher when she needs to. What’s not to love?
• 3. Phoebe Somerville from Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s It Had to Be You – I was a little bit anxious about being able to relate to someone who regularly carries around a miniature poodle, but I loved Phoebe’s vulnerability, and I loved that she just wanted to make people happy, including herself, and she really didn’t know how to do that.
• 4. Dela Rheese from Marjorie Liu’s Tiger Eye – Spunky, again kick-ass, and someone who very definitely had relationships aside from the hero.
• 5. Sascha Duncan from Nalini Singh’s Slave to Sensation – She considered herself an aberration, someone who felt emotions even though she wasn’t supposed to. She could have been a cold, evil bitch who was hard to deal with, but she wasn’t.

Top Five Male Characters

Depending on how much I need to procrastinate, there may be more of my top picks of the past year posted later, but for now, I’ll start out and simply list my favorite books overall.

I had a really good reading year, and discovered a lot of new authors, largely thanks to following romance reader blogs, and in so doing I discovered a lot of excellent books. But here are my top ten, in no particular order.

• 1. Naked in Death by J. D. Robb – I’d put off this series for a couple of years, because the number of books written about Eve Dallas is still fairly staggering. But I’m glad I finally took the opportunity to start the series. Eve and Roarke are great characters with great chemistry, and I love the futuristic world Robb has conujured for them.

• 2. Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh – This one was definitely brought to my attention because of the blogs I read. Singh’s alternate universe is one of the most creative I’ve read in a while, and she brings together two very likeable people who deserve happiness.
• 3. The Elvenbane by Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton – This is wonderful epic fantasy. The sequel was a serious disappointment, but the first book delivered a rivveting story with characters I came to love.
• 4. Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold – This is my favorite Miles Vorkosigan book so far. I just adore him, and I love watching him extricate himself from his various adventures. Plus, I admit that a large part of why this is my favorite in the Vorkosigan saga is because of Elli Quinn, who kicks so much ass in this book.
• 5. Pirate’s Price by Darlene Marshall. I chose to read this book back in March, and I don’t think I posted a full-fledged review, but it’s the sort of book that I can still remember even months later, and it features a heroine I absolutely adore.
• 6. Tiger Eye by Marjorie Liu – This is paranormal romance that works equally well as urban fantasy. What I liked about this book was the fact that the hero and heroine are seen evolving in the way they relate to each other, starting out wary and then growing to fall in love. I also really liked the fact that Dela doesn’t suffer from what I call the April O’Neil syndrome. We see her interactions with the sequel-baits in a way that feels as if these people really do have connections with each other. She isn’t coddled or protected, she fights when she needs to, but she also allows herself some vulnerability.
• 7. Wild at Heart by Patricia Gaffney – Another book that worked very well for me, set in a time period that isn’t explored very often, 1890’s Chicago. Sydney and Michael were three-demensional characters and we got to watch their attraction build, and overall theres was a very sweet love story.
• 8. It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips – I really was skeptical about reading anything by SEP. The plot summaries make her books seem really wacky, and I am really not a fan of wacky. What I got instead was a sweet romance with funny moments about two people who both needed to find that special person in the other.
• 9. Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas – This was a very sweet story about two very different people who realize they need each other. Derek Craven isn’t one of the gentry, and it was nice to read about some of the lower-class members of London society. And though I am distinctly in the minority from what I’ve read, I really loved Sarah, probably more than Derek.
• 10. Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase – This book nearly didn’t make the cut. I remember thinking the book was pretty OK when I read it, but not the OMGBESTROMANCEEVAH! Then I spent some months reading vastly inferior books. Jess and Dain are well-suited. Their chemistry is excellent, I love their banter back and forth, and I loved watching Dain grow up over the course of the story. It was wonderful to see a heroine be who wasn’t a complete nitwit, and I wish there were more heroines represented in the stuff I read like Jessica Trent.