I have had mixed luck with my non-m/m reading lately.

The first 4 books of the Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series

Magic Bites – meh. I liked it ok and got into the series. The narrator takes quite a bit to get used to because she sounds like a man on crack but I liked the kick ass heroine. The plot wasn’t anything special or that attention grabbing. The setting is what made me want more. Urban fantasy with a twist.

Magic Burns – LOATHED ENTIRELY. I actually paid $20 for the audio version (I usually rent from the library) just for this book to listen to during my marathon. I hated this book so much. It was horrible. If I had been smart I would have switched audio books but I couldn’t stop running. If I’d stopped I wouldn’t have started again so I had to listen to the entire, horrible, awful book this was. Bad premise. Bad characters. Bad situations, and a ridiculous ending.

Magic Strikes – So you’re probably surprised I managed to read this one at all given my other feelings. However I loved this one. I really did. I had heard the series gets better so I went back to it and wished this book never ended. I think Kate and the writing have really hit their stride. It managed to balance a kick ass chick with vulnerability and flaws with even a love interest and a plot. Impressive!

Magic Bleeds – again I loved it. I thought the Kate and Curren relationship came along beautifully while the extension of Kate’s job finally got some real traction. The family connections from Kate’s past really worked well and gave some much needed depth to Kate’s character. I feel as though the series is taking off and going great. I’m trying to space out the next books when all I want to do is gorge.

I’ve tried several books and DNF’d them including:

Halfway to the Grave  by Jeaniene Frost

I wonder what I’m missing? This book got a ton of 5 star reviews and accolades from people and reviewers I trust but I couldn’t finish it. I hated it.  Bones is hot for sure but Cat drove me insane. She’s idiotic, hypocritical, and stupid. Sometimes the stupidity of her actions would have me saying out loud “of course you’re a fucking idiot.” She gets into trouble time and time again, forcing Bones to rescue her. I thought she was some bad ass? Um, not so much. I prefer my kick ass heroines to actually be smarter, more eloquent, and capable than this one. I honestly couldn’t finish because I kept hoping a vamp would kill her.

 Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Seriously? This is a horrible book. It’s like the author took the previous 2 successful books, threw them out the window while keeping the characters and put them in an entirely new book. I mean the premise is nominally there but it’s so convoluted and stupid. The explanation of the government conspiracy is SO BAD I actually threw the book. I couldn’t read anymore. I skimmed to the end to see what happened then was glad I threw the book. This author definitely thinks she’s some kind of bad ass for killing off her main character in a completely superfluous and idiotic reason. One that actually made no sense. But hey! You’re so cool you killed off your money maker and pissed off the internet (no doubt?). Good for you?

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read The Casual Vacancy and found it underwhelming to say the least. I was trepadatious to read another of Rowling’s adult works but I’d heard good reviews and took a chance. I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed this story so much it kept me thinking beyond the end. I find it has the same flaws as TCV in that it’s overwritten and locaquious to a fault. The prose is trying to be witty but also trying to be way too wordy. It could easily have been trimmed down by half, but I like the bones of the story. The various characters are interesting and the mystery actually kept me wondering until the very end. I didn’t like the ending, too neat and wrapped up, but I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series. Continue reading →