Meet Me at Goodreads

Thanks to all of you who've noticed the new features on my blog. Or NOT, as the case may be.

Actually, the only new feature is the Goodreads link on the lower right. I had a really awesome post introducing it, but blogger just swallowed it and booted me out. So now I'm peeved and will be writing a slightly peevish post.

I recently joined Goodreads and have been adding books I've read and those I'm reading (there always seem to be three, no matter how quickly I finish them). This should appeal to the voyeuristic types amongst you, dear readers, since you'll be able to look at the scandalous nature of my choices. And some are scandalous, due mostly to my previously-secret addiction to romance novels. Thanks for keeping that under wraps, darling Kindle, but it's time they knew.

I'll be reviewing the truly spectacular ones as I discover/devour them, and those books that have most profoundly affected (or even effected!) me. That should help you in figuring out exactly how I turned out like this.

And, if you want to stop by at Goodreads and chat about books we've read or are reading in common, please do. Sadly, most of my friends are illiterate and too proud to buy audiobooks. Just kidding. Only about 20% are illiterate, but the others think it's cool to act that way. I really hate them sometimes.

I just finished Brent Weeks' The Way of Shadows, and wow did that one earn a review. My reviews generally don't contain spoilers, by the way, possibly because I'm not very good at writing reviews, so I try not to make them worse by actively spoiling the book. I working on that (getting better at reviews, not spoiling things).

Another Review! Laura Bickle's EMBERS

EMBERS puts the urban back in urban fantasy. Anya Kalinczyk is unusual for an urban fantasy protagonist in that she has a regular job. Well, non-fantastical anyway. She's an arson investigator for the Detroit Fire Department, and subject to bureaucratic tropes, office politics and municipal cutbacks. She's also a Lantern, a medium psychically linked to fire and able to consume and extinguish malicious spirits.

Anya is strong, competent and dedicated. She's also vulnerable and terribly alone. Her elemental familiar, Sparky, is a salamander. He watches over her in his own charming way, but is also one of the reasons she has avoided intimacy with humans.

In the course of investigating strange arsons and working with a crew of ghost hunters, throughout a troubled and depressed Motor City, Anya discovers that something wicked her way comes. In the days leading up to Devil's Night, the fires are just a harbinger of possible greater destruction, which Anya races to uncover, facing increasingly difficult obstacles.

Anya is a complex character, drawn to things she cannot have, and pushed into performing acts she does not like because of her power. The city is described in excellent detail, becoming a character itself, and the supporting cast is strong.

The book is a little uneven, and the end felt almost hasty. But, overall, a good, grown-up urban fantasy. Unusually, I was at times more intrigued by the mundane aspects of Anya's occupation than the fantastical aspects of the world the author built. But in a good way. RECOMMENDED.

A Review! - Suzanne McLeod's The Sweet Scent of Blood

“Genevieve Taylor is a sidhe – one of the noble fae – and she’s unusual even in a London where celebrity vampires, eccentric goblins and scheming lesser fae mix freely with humanity…” from the book back of The Sweet Scent of Blood.

Genny Taylor works for Spellcrackers.com, uncovering magic and spells and, when required, breaking them. When a celebrity vampire is accused of killing his human lover, and the vampire’s human father beseeches Genny to help him prove his son’s innocence, she’s sucked into a murky web of conspiracy.

Debut author Suzanne McLeod does a sterling job of showcasing an alternate history London, where paranormals and magic are the norm, and she does it with original twists and without overbearing exposition. This book moves quickly as Genny is swept up in the competing schemes of both the powerful and the power-hungry. She is both a pawn and a resourceful player of the game. This book is not for the faint of heart. It’s at times violent, bloody and darkly sensual, but those elements are well-balanced with strong characters, and Genny’s pragmatism and valiant struggle both to uncover the truth and control her own dark impulses.

While I had some trouble getting through the first few pages and sometimes felt that information was withheld a few moments too long, I could not put this book down until I got to the very last suspenseful, satisfying word. The Cold Kiss of Death, the next book in Suzanne’s Spellcrackers series, is on my wish list. If you cannot wait, I believe it's already been released in the UK.

Highly Recommended.