Review: Heat Trap by J.L. Merrow … still good but not maintaining the same oomph.

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Heat Trap (The Plumber’s Mate, #3)Heat Trap by J.L. Merrow

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The third book in the Plumber’s series was short and sweet, though unsatisfying for me. The mystery was bland and unappealing honestly and there were some serious problems with Tom’s character (in my opinion) but the romance finally flourished after some unnecessary angst and the story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. The series could either way, I could see it continuing or ending here. Given the ending, I’d be surprised if the author didn’t give at least a short story addressing the last issue but who knows. I think I’m ok to be done with the series as Tom has slowly lost his charm and appeal for me as a reader over the course of the series. He’s interesting and offers a good mess of neuroses and intelligence but his reaction to Phil in this book made me want Phil to run far, far away. I’m curious what other readers will think of this particular offering. Continue reading →

So long best laid plans …

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Although my plans call for me boarding a plane tomorrow morning to sunny Florida to attend the sure to be awesome Rainbow Con – unfortunately I won’t be. *le sigh*

It seems that life has some different plans for me. Without going into too much detail I’ve mentioned before that I’m training for my Ironman race in a few months and have been racing all season long with a heavy training schedule. That’s actually not to blame, though I wish it was, but instead I was out on a routine after work ride when my bike skidded out from underneath me on a turn.

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It was one of those crashes that happens to everyone – I think? Probably only me but I thought I’d come away a little bruised and banged up but not so worse for wear.

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Unfortunately my injuries are a little more serious and it means I won’t be able to make the conference this weekend. Bummer. I have spoken with the organizers to apologize profusely and I’m sorry I’ll be sorely missing their company and that of everyone this weekend. I’ve no doubt it’ll be an amazing time, as it was last year. Instead I’ll have to plan for next year! I guess I can use this time to catch up on all my reading – always a bonus.

 

Review: Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews .. not as good as their other series.

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Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1)Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, even when it annoys me at times. Burn for Me is a new series by the duo and it’s very, very similar to the Kate Daniels series. Very similar. As in you could almost replace Kate with Nevada and Curran with Rogan. However, I found Nevada to be more annoying than Kate and the story to be much more predictable and less entertaining. However to be fair I was on a roller coaster with this book – sometimes I liked it, sometimes I was annoyed, sometimes I really liked it, and sometimes I hated it entirely. Overall I think it’s just ok but I dislike how formulaic the series is when you consider the similarities to the existing KD series. Although a lot of fans may preferentially prefer such formatting and therefore adore the hell out of the series. YMMV. Continue reading →

Throwback Review: The Hell You Say by Josh Lanyon .. the series is still a favorite.

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The Hell You Say (Adrien English Mystery, #3)The Hell You Say by Josh Lanyon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think the mystery in THYS was stronger than the previous book but still kind of convoluted, as that seems to be a running theme in this series. It allows for a pretty lengthy investigation to occur before the resolution and thus plenty of time for Jake and Adrien to have their relationship drama. Except this time there wasn’t much to these two. The scenes they did have were dramatic and stunning, which kind of made me want to cry that there weren’t more. Jake breaks up with Adrien late in the book but the writing is on the wall almost from the start. It’s clear these two are not “together” in the strictest sense and it’s not surprising when the final confrontation happens. Thus we meet a new love interest for Adrien, which is nice, and his new overwhelmingly blonde and perky sisters in law in between him running around trying to solve a satan-worshipping case. It’s a good book and the personal relationships Adrien has steal the show with a mildly interesting, if convoluted, mystery as the backdrop. Once again the narrator is really the shinning star with both Adrien as a great character and Patton being an excellent narrator. Continue reading →

Review: The Martian by Andy Weir .. best book of the year so far.

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The MartianThe Martian by Andy Weir

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Martian came well recommended and I decided to give the audiobook a try. I’m glad I did, as it’s a highly, HIGHLY entertaining story I loved listening to and hated to finish. Even so it’s utterly ridiculous and basically a superhero story even while being technically outstanding, both in writing and realistic detail. The events depicted are logically and scientifically not only possible, but also probable. What makes the story utterly ridiculous is that all of the knowledge, capability, and ingenuity rely on one person. Not even MacGuiver would have figured out everything presented in this book. Though no doubt I totally aged myself with that reference. Anyway – the point is that the book is exceptionally entertaining while being a fabulously well-written science fiction novel. It’s just not likely to have happened that way. Does this matter? Probably not, ymmv. Continue reading →

Review: Don’t Look Back by Josh Lanyon .. seriously, don’t look. Don’t bother.

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Don't Look BackDon’t Look Back by Josh Lanyon

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I listened to the audiobook version of this because someone had asked me about my 2 star rating (sans review) and I had no idea why I’d rated it that way. Funny enough listening to the book I remembered absolutely nothing about it so it was like reading for the first time. I still didn’t like it, so apparently my tastes haven’t changed that much. I found the story plodding, silly, and disliked the main character a lot. I liked the concept of the story quite a bit and think written in a different way it would have been a real hit. Unfortunately I found JL’s handling of the idea clunky, obvious, and not entertaining sadly. I know other people who loved it so ymmv. Continue reading →

Why does time move so fast?

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Seriously…let’s back this up just a bit because the year is going by way too fast. How is it almost JUNE!?

What. The. Fuck.

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On the upside, I am alive. Mostly. In the breathing way that matters.

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I finished my first of three big races this year and then promptly got incredibly sick, as one does after accomplishing a large goal. Why not celebrate praying for death laying flat on your back without even the ability to play video games for solace. *cue violins* It was tragic, painful and fucking awful. But hey it’s done and back to training.

Actually being sick was 100x worse than the race. My ironman coming up is not really scary anymore when I consider I went through -days- of pain. Days. Now we’re talking 13 hrs? Easy! Bring it on Louisville. I got this. (she says 4 months out from the race…oh the idiocy)

Because why not choose the 4th hardest. WHY NOT!

Because why not choose the 4th hardest. WHY NOT!

It’s been amusing to check out the latest clusterfucks about the inter webs, because those never end. Cheerio to the fun drama because I can’t seem to care about any of it. Wait a few months no one will remember.

Anyway! I have been reading. Not as much as I’d like sadly but still any is better than none. If I can get it in audiobook it usually gets read pretty quickly. So I’m happily not as behind as I usually am. I actually have read some of the books people are talking about.

Impressive, I know. You’re astonished.

Anyone have any recommendations on the must read books of the year so far? Since most of my sources have stopped blogging (why you people, why!) – I’m drawing blanks on who to turn to.

Help me! Please?

Oh and time –

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Review: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver .. why must authors be so inconsistent?

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Vanishing GirlsVanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

— warning this post contains spoilers —

This definitely goes into the category of “I suffered so you don’t have to” books. I usually like Lauren Oliver’s books but not always. I think Rooms was boring and pointless, although I really liked Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy. I thought Panic was “eh” with moments of greatness. Unfortunately Vanishing Girls is closer to Rooms in the pointless and ridiculously loquacious writing than it was to the books I actually like of Oliver’s. I’m frustrated by the change in her writing to awkward and unpleasing analogies and the over use of cliché plot points that other books have done better and more successfully. I can’t say I loathed Vanishing Girls but I did hate on it pretty hard. I wanted to quit so many times but I also wanted to see if I was right about everything (sadly I was. STOP BEING PREDICTABLE!). Even die-hard fans should avoid this one. Continue reading →