My relationship with this series had a good run of five books, but it seemingly ended and we went our separate ways. Now, it promises it has changed with a new perspective, so I was curious and checked the new installments out. I’m not really sure I’m feeling it, but I keep giving the new books the benefit of the doubt. There aren’t any red flags and they’re not irredeemable, so there must be no harm in continuing the series, but I still feel a […]
I listened but I didn’t learn.
I was warned that this one wasn’t that great, but in the spirit of getting back on the horse of reading monthy book club picks, I went ahead and read it anyway. I am not filled with righteous fury over this book, but I am very disappointed. The premise sounded pretty entertaining, an Ilona Andrews-lite set up of a young woman from a magical family whose own powers are mostly unknown and untested. She’s drawn into an investigation being overseen by a very powerful vampire […]
Still alive
The Girl with All the Gifts breathes life into its genre with a fresh angle on the pathology of an outbreak and an ending that I truly did not expect. The story opens at a noticeably unconventional school/dormitory, where the pupils are carefully monitored and restrained when they are not locked in their individual cells. Our primary protagonist, Melanie, is one such pupil, a bright girl of about ten who loves learning, particularly math and stories of Greek mythology. Her favorite teacher, Miss Justineau, encourages […]
Lord give me patience
I recently said that I have a lot more patience for historical rogues than I do for contemporary assholes in romance. This is still true, but Sebastian Ballister, Marquess of Dain really tested my strength. Owing to not being loved enough as a child, he’s belligerently awful to everyone, even those who consider themselves friends. He doesn’t like anyone, but he’s especially contemptuous of “females.” In a fun bit of head-scratching irony, he sneers both at whores and ladies for perfectly opposing and complementary reasons: […]