Kiss the Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton

Honestly, even more than taking a break with another book, Kiss the Dead is a breath of fresh air in this Anita Blake reread saga. Kiss the Dead focuses a lot more on Anita's work life and less on the continuing drama of her personal life. Make no mistake, that is definitely still there, but the main focus for a good half the book is on a case, which I very much like. I also like that this case takes place in St. Louis, so there's much less "dick measuring" going on with cops Anita hasn't worked with before, which is also very nice.

The only note I had written down was about Larry and Anita's morality argument. I liked it. Unfortunately, in a world of monsters, someone has to do the monstrous things to save lives from the actual monsters. This is later reflected in the conversation Anita has with Weiskopf. Vampires might essentially be human, but they're humans with supernatural abilities that need to be controlled and have built-in mechanisms for that. Otherwise, that's where Anita, Edward, and the rest of the new Preternatual Marshalls come in.

Speaking of Weiskopf, I think his (and his Master's) quest for freedom makes a lot of sense. I think that quest would also definitely appeal to the modern U.S. vampire. I also think there's not a lot of understanding on the part of those modern vampires as to why the power structures in-built into vampires exist in the first place or that they need to continue to exist. I am also very glad that Hamilton addresses this issue several times within the series and doesn't just do it once and then let it stand as precedence.

So, as for the personal-life aspects of Kiss the Dead... a reread does Asher zero favors. Knowing how his nonsense essentially turns out just makes me roll my eyes at every little thing he says. The last chapter (basically epilogue) posits that he won't do therapy, which he desperately needs, and knowing he continues along that vein... oi vey. I'm already very tired of it.

"The Cynric Problem"... I'm honestly not sure what to say about that. I've never been in a relationship with an age-gap, so I'm not sure how I'd feel about it, especially given how that relationship started. Honestly, talking about age-gap relationships in this day and age is a mine-field I don't feel particularly qualified to comment on. If it works between two consenting adults (which Sin and Anita are at this point) it works. The added complication of Sin just finding out how nerve-wracking it is to be dating a cop... also something I'm not at all qualified to comment on, let's be clear... yeah... Sin's young and it really does show.

But yeah... Kiss the Dead is definitely more up my alley in terms of being much less frustrating than other entries into the Anita Blake canon have been lately. I'm not sure if I have a fully renewed interest, but this one definitely felt better than others. 

 

Bonus Short Second Review

Mort was enjoyable. I do like the “Death takes a holiday” type stories. This one was a bit more complicated than others tend to be. That said, I really just don’t think I’m cut out for Discworld. I gave it a good try, but it’s just not for me. 

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

I was honestly rather bored with Broken Homes. Considered DNFing it at one point. There was just a whole lotta nothin’ happening for a good long while in it and… yeah.

I definitely thought the wizard staff making bit was going to be longer and more interesting than it was. The architectural stuff was much longer and more boring. Even what happened with it at the end felt very anticlimactic.

Surprise, there were and are more magic users that Nightingale is/was aware of. Of course there are. This is the most unsurprising surprise. Random people and the Russian Night Witches, who’re no relation to the actual Night Witches. Speaking of, I did actually like Varvara. She was part of the more interesting bits of the story.

The Spring Fair was blah. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, but it was a load of nothing. I Did like seeing Beverly again for a minute. It feels like her inclusion is set up for her being more involved in later books.

Speaking of later books… Lesley. I don’t think I can actually say much without spoilers, but… her actions were understandable, I’ll say that much.

So yeah… I wasn’t really a fan of Broken Homes. Hoping the next one is better.

Favorite Conversation

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Lesley?” I asked. 

     “I think so, Peter,” she said. “But how are we going to get the pony up here?” - Peter Grant & Lesley May

The Lunatic Cafe by Laurell K. Hamilton

Beware of spoilers if you have not read the book. Otherwise, read on.

So, I spent a lot of this time reading The Lunatic Cafe this time focused on Anita and Richard and their relationship. I said in my review of Circus of the Damned that I'm really not a fan of Richard and that definitely still holds true. I feel he's all wrong for Anita and know he's not super secure in himself at this point, so them getting engaged in this book was just... blech. I'll definitely be getting more into that later in this review. The B-Plot with the shapeshifters and lycanthropes isn't my favorite of the police-centric stories, but it's definitely not bad. I'm honestly surprised the sort of thing it turns out to be doesn't end up being more prevalent in the series... but then, that would probably be too repetitious... and the antagonists do all die in the end so... yeah.

It's always interesting to get more preternatural world-building. I don’t think we hear much, if anything else about gargoyles and trolls through the rest of the series. Interesting to know they exist, though. We also get our first big encounter with witches, so that's fun. I really do feel like the way Hamilton does her world-building makes the Anita Blake universe feel very lived in. We get trickles of information from what Anita encounters when she encounters it, but never in large info-dumps. I appreciate it a lot.

Sheriff Titus and Officer Aikensen, first in a long line of cops Anita has to convince she knows wtf she’s doing. Being assholes basically just to be assholes. These guys never fail to piss me off. I find myself skimming those parts lately, more often than not. This time they had the added bonus of pissing me off more toward the end of the book... I can just hear Titus' slimy "good ol' boy" voice in my head as I read his dialogue. I fully believe Aikensen deserves his fate.

We also get another impatient antagonist in Marcus. Like, dude, allow for scheduling meetings for the next day, ESPECIALLY if it’s frigging 2am. This intimidation tactic really reads as annoying af. I also find it extremely annoying when the sub-cultures introduce and enforce rules on the humans (it’s generally humans) who have zero clue what’s even going on. Especially when those people used to be completely human themselves and/or have to exist in human society. Like, wtf are you even doing expecting someone who has no clue what’s going on to know this shit or agree to it? Like, yes, okay, explain it to them, but don’t expect the newbies to follow immediately. Express an expectation that the newbie will be held to the “laws” or whatever the next time ya’ll interact. Ugh. Frankly, this whole thing with Marcus, at least the beginning of it, really did not need to be or turn into what it did. He could/should have set up a meeting with Anita alone. But hey, gotta set him -- and Raina -- up for later installments.

Alright, now for the relationship discussion. I have THOUGHTS.

The following two paragraphs are verbatim notes I took as I was reading:

I feel like the conversation about “happily ever afters” at the end of Anita and Richard’s date really highlights why the pair of them just won’t work. This doesn’t exactly come out until later, but Richard’s insistence on that white picket fence mentality despite knowing all along that what Anita does isn’t conducive to that… big red flag. I would have liked to see where that conversation would have gone if Jean-Claude hadn’t derailed it.

How the fuck was Anita supposed to “take care of yourself” when she a) doesn’t know what’s going on and b) doesn’t know the dang rules, Richard? Wtf, man. Keeping her out of it clearly did her no good. Also, Jean-Claude using her against Nikolaos was totally different than the whole Marcus thing. Jean-Claude and Anita weren’t even close to dating at the time. You tell people you’re dating about your big life things, especially when it’ll probably get you killed.

Oooooh the absolute hilarity of Anita waiting for marriage… Also… Richard’s very quick “well let’s get married then”… oooof. Ya’ll haven’t been dating that long… not that people haven’t been a roaring success with a short dating period but… ya’ll also have some serious differing life opinions you need to sort out first. Ooof.

End notes.

Okay, so… Anita and Richard basically have a good chunk of issues. Mainly because Richard doesn’t believe Anita’s really as tough-as-nails and Anita had zero clue what she was getting herself into with Richard and his Beast. This does not go away and, from what I remember about the rest of the series, only really gets worse. Hamilton pretty much states this herself in the Afterword. Richard also clearly has issues with the Beast side of himself, so… yeah. That contributes a lot. Anyway, them getting engaged this early was honestly really stupid, in my opinion, for all the reasons I’ve stated here.

I also really hate Jean-Claude’s whole “I would like to date you for the same amount of time he did and I won’t kill him” thing. Coercion is not a green flag. While ultimately, I think Jean-Claude is the better partner for Anita (just between him and Richard), the beginning of their relationship is gross. First the vampire marks against her will, then the coercive dating... I was reading the bit where Jean-Claude shows up at Anita's apartment after her dip in the icy river and ranting aloud to my boyfriend about how it's all really stupid and everyone is being an asshole... The whole thing is super problematic and I hate it. There are reasons Romance is not my genre.

Anyway... The Lunatic Cafe is a solid fourth entry in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. It really does focus a lot on the issues Anita and Richard have, I didn't just pull all those notes and stuff out of thin air. I'm mostly satisfied with where and how this ended. And oh yeah, Jason's first appearance! 

Favorite Lines

"There are more roads to monsterdom than most people realize." - Anita Blake

"If you do not help and protect those who are less able than you, weaker than you, what good are you? No damn good at all." - Laurell K. Hamilton

An Illustrative Couple of Paragraphs

Please, for the love of all that is Holy, discuss this stuff with your SO well BEFORE you decide to tie the knot. I feel like these paragraphs say a lot about why Richard and Anita shouldn't have gotten engaged in this book... clearly not all, but A LOT.

The Gate of Bones by Emily Drake

I'm really... kind of torn about this one. The Gate of Bones was definitely better than The Dragon Guard, but it had its own problems. It mostly felt like the endgame of this book should have been rescuing Eleanora and Fire Ann, but that ended up being fairly anti-climactic... and then the actual ending seemed to take forever in getting there. I was honestly bored by the time the book decided to close the Gate, both literally and figuratively.

The Gate of Bones was definitely much less choppy, though it still somewhat suffered from choppiness. Most of the story focused on how the Magickers were dealing with their new world and some of the ways in which that new world worked. Haven was semi-interesting, though there wasn't a whole lot of explanation as to how society functioned there. There's definitely a vague medieval-ish/Renaissance-y vibe, but it's also rather disparate so... just strange.

I did find it just as frustrating as Bailey and Ting that the girls were left behind for a lot of the "questing" stuff. There's an understanding as to why, but at the same time... not great. I thought for a hot second that Jonnard was going to develop a crush on Bailey and boy and I glad his quest for Power superseded all of that. The last thing this semi-convoluted stuff needed was Jonnard thirsting after Bailey. I'm not super happy that Bailey essentially got damseled a couple of times, too.

We finally get confirmation as to what Aunt Freya is guarding, though what's actually going to happen on that front is up in the air at the end. I won't spoil it, but it's kind of the only reason I'm about to go on to the fifth Magickers book (only available digitally, but at least there's an actual ending to this thing).

There's also some more philosophical discussion between Jason and The Dragon. Much dithering over whether or not Jason chose correctly, mostly because Jason doubts himself. Other than that, though, Jason's not actually the main focus of this one... his bits aren't really focused on any more than the others.

But yeah, The Gate of Bones was overall alright. I would honestly have been fine leaving the story here, but, as I've already got the fifth and final one... *much shrugging ensues* Guess we'll see how that goes.

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

So, yet again, I feel like there was a lot crammed in here. There wasn’t a lot of room for much of it to really breathe until the end. The aftermaths of the Percy Jackson series usually have more room to breathe than the core plot, I find. Which, ya know, is a choice.

Much of Nico’s characterization and growth happened off-screen, which was alright. There was already a lot going on with the adventure through the Labyrinth. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about the Labyrinth itself. It’s kind of a neat concept, with the ever-growing and changing thing… and sort of a fast-travel hack if you find the right person to help out. Speaking of which, Rachel Dare. Not quite the most interesting character and I suspect mostly there just to make Percy and Annabeth snip at each other… well, and lead Percy and the gang through the Labyrinth, of course.

I did like Percy figuring out how to better use his powers. I feel like Camp Half-Blood should really have some kind of courses in power-usage besides all the battle training, but I also figure, since the Big Three weren’t supposed to have kids, it makes sense that Percy has to figure out his powers on his own.

The end battle was… a battle. I did have one of those teary-eyed moments when the Labyrinth denizens started showing up. Apparently my brain just cannot handle the “everyone joins in support of the hero” moments without some tears… even if I honestly didn’t have a lot of feelings about the characters themselves.

I think I liked The Battle of the Labyrinth better than the last two. It still doesn’t make it into my favorites, but it felt better.

Favorite Line

"Percy, lesser beings do many horrible things in the name of the gods. That does not mean we gods approve. The way our sons and daughters act in our names…well, it usually says more about them than it does about us." - Poseidon

Wolfcry by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

 Spoiler Free Reread Review

My feelings on Wolfcry are complicated, as, I think, is the entire story.

On the one hand, I really, really don't think the people of Wyvern's Court are forced to spend enough time together. Just hanging out in the Market isn't nearly enough. They should be celebrating their holidays together, going to school together, etc. It definitely feels as though the society here basically isn't trying hard enough.

On the other hand, the society of Wyvern's Court definitely mirrors real life. The way the USA (the only country I can speak about with any kind of authority and even that is from my priveleged-white-girl stand-point) has segregated itself despite having many more years than the fictional Wyvern's Court to come together. Plus, the societies are just so, so different, combining them is nigh impossible. The Falcons certainly did them a doozy as far as that goes. I'm finding it hard to come up with a more real-world equivalent and failing to come up with a combo that makes sense. But I digress.

Oliza's personal journey here was what actually took up the "runtime." I liked the continued world-building with the wolves and the Obsidian guild. I definitely liked the whole Betia thing, which I won't get into, but yeah... I think it was an interesting choice to have the sakkri tie everything together. Oliza is vaguely aware of the issues she's going to have to face, probably more aware than she realized, before the sakkri essentially woke her to the realities of the situation. She did voice at some stage how she has literally no one in her peer-group who embodies what she herself does, which I found both interesting and absolutely absurd... and proves my point that the societies really aren't trying to combine effectively if even those in their princess' inner circle are so divided.

So yeah... overall, the story hangs together well enough. I feel like Oliza's physical journey took forever, which... yes, the distance she apparently had to cover on foot would have. But it all culminates around the sakkri and Oliza deciding what to do about all that. Still heckin' complicated.

In Other News

I've been on vacation for the last week! I went to visit my family in Washington. If you'd like to see pictures from my trip, head over to my Facebook Page (link in the side bar) and take a look at my "Washington 2025" Album. There's a lot of beautiful tree photos from our walk through "The Hall of Mosses" in Hoh National Park, just as a highlight.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Illustrated Edition

If you are planning to purchase this book, please do so used in order to curb J.K. Rowling's spending on her transphobia.

Time for another Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire reread, but this time with pictures! This review will be primarily focusing on the Illustrated Edition, though I will probably be adding some of my views on the story as well. There will be spoilers, especially in the quotes section.

The cover is alright. Definitely not my favorite of the Illustrated Editions. The Norwegian Ridgeback’s design is interesting. I did notice a slightly amusing detail on the back of Snape smiling as he watches Harry confront the dragon. Though we can’t see the other side of the stands, it does seem like the enclosure in which Harry and the dragon are is waaaay too small and it’s a wonder it hasn’t gone up in flames by this point. The opening pages depict the World Cup camping grounds and really drive home how bright and festive that event is.

I love the illustration of the Riddle House. It’s spot on and I kind of want it blown up for a Halloween decoration of some sort. The entire chapter is quite atmospherically done.
 

The illustrations of the predawn English countryside in “The Portkey” are gorgeous. They remind me very much of some old Beatrix Potter videos I watched as a kid at my grandparents’ house. I do wish they’d switched to white text here, though, as the black blends in a bit too well with the gray-green background. Gotta say, the illustrations of Cedric and Krum (in the next chapter) look quite similar.

Not really sure why Draco warranted a full, two-page spread in the middle of “The Dark Mark,” but there it is. The forest looks properly forest-y. I never pictured Draco to have such a square jaw.

I quite like the Hogwarts Express illustrations. Gorgeous.

Things I did not need an illustration of: Blast-Ended Skrewts

Love, love, love the Beauxbatons carriage/flying horses illustration. Love me some well-rendered horses.
 

The portrait of Rita Skeeter is arresting, to say the least. I suppose it is more book-accurate than not, but uh… it’s unflattering.

The combo of Hungarian Horntail paintings with the actual text was very effective. I wasn’t expecting a second Horntail depiction so soon… or at all… but the second one matched really, really well with the text.

Interesting rendition of merpeople, or at least their faces. Kind of cat-like, really.
 

Wow, that portrait of Winky in “The Madness of Mr Crouch.” It’s… uh… wow probably the darkest portrait, in terms of subject matter. Hats off to whichever artist did that one.

Omg, the illustration depicting Voldemort’s “child-ish” form is hella creepy. As is the illustration of naked Voldemort on the following page. Very evocative.

Of course, there are many more illustrations within the book. All beautifully done. I highly recommend either finding the illustrations online (they’re probably floating around by now) or checking out this edition from your library. However you choose to view these, please figure out the best way to do so without giving JK Rowling anymore money. She definitely doesn’t need it and will only use it to fund anti-trans nonsense.

Favorite Lines

"Through the gates, flanked with statues of winged board, and up the sweeping drive the carriages trundled, swaying dangerously in what was fast becoming a gale." - Narration

"Talon-clipping by charms... treating scale rot... this is no good, this is for nutters like Hagrid who want to keep them healthy..." - Harry Potter

"Secrecy Sensor. Vibrates when it detects concealment and lies... no use here, of course, too much interference -- students in every direction lying about why they haven't done their homework. Been humming ever since I got here. I had to disable my Sneakoscope because it wouldn't stop whistling. It's extra sensitive, picks up stuff about a mile around. Of course, it could be picking up more than kids' stuff," he added in a growl. - Mad Eye Moody (Barty Crouch Jr.)

"I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you said, Harry," said Dumbledor, twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ceiling. - Albus Dumbledore

"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." - Sirius Black

In Other News

I finished my Tsunomon project over on OviPets! Tsunomon took 4 months with a 5 month gap while I waited on a Seasonal Mutation. Tsunomon is part of my Village of Beginnings Project Line and based off the Digimon of the same name.

Dragon's Kin by Anne and Todd McCaffrey

The story of Kindan and Nuella. I liked it well enough and it was a quick read. I learned an awful lot about coal mining that I didn't know before. I also don't really have a lot of feelings about Dragon's Kin. It was an okay story with an obvious antagonist who didn't really end up doing that much or really participating in the story.

Dragon's Kin was very slice-of-life. Kindan's story took up the majority of the book, while sprinkling in bits of Nuella throughout. Also, due to the order in which I'm reading the Pern books, I was kind of like "well, this thing with the watch-wher doesn't last all that long and I vaguely remember Nuella having more to do with watch-whers so... let's just see where this goes." I did not remember anything from my first read, though.

It was a little surprising and heart-breaking to know that any knowledge the Pernese might have had about watch-whers was completely lost between when Wind Blossom created them and the "present" of Dragon's Kin. I know they lost a great deal of information when the computers ultimately went down, but I also feel like watch-whers and their care should have been more important than I guess they are. It also kind of hurts to know their original purpose and "see" them chained up as they often are. Just thoroughly disheartened by the loss of important information... though not completely surprised... Roman concrete and all.

Dragon's Kin is definitely a more intimate story than the last few Pern books. I don't really think that's a bad thing, just different. 

In Other News

I have hit my recent goal and updated to 125.

Midnight Predator by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

I am fairly certain Midnight Predator was the first of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' books I ever read. If not, it's definitely the one that pulled me hook, line, and sinker into Atwater-Rhodes' Nyeusigrube universe. However, rereading it now... all the cringe.

So first, the slavery aspect. I know for a fact that I originally read this as more BDSM-coded than not. I think it is BDSM-coded, but it is definitely more than that. Make no mistake, humans are being bought and sold by vampires in this world. I'm not sure if, timeline-wise, it's gone back to a chattel-style thing, but Jaguar confirms it used to be that way. And the BDSM-coding? It's definitely a twisted version of what BDSM actually is. I think the last time I read a character using BDSM to twist his victims like Jaguar admits to doing in the past (and Jeshikah straight-up threatens to do to Turquoise), the character was a villain. That Jaguar ends up being something of a love-interest... cringe. Definite cringe.

I'm pretty sure Midnight Predator was where I fell in love with the idea of vampire hunters with organizations behind them. This doesn't exactly glamorize the idea, but it definitely planted it in my teenage head.

Turquoise definitely isn't the best representation of healthy coping. It makes sense, in this world, that the trauma she endured and escaped from would result in her chosen profession. But man, girl needs some therapy. She's not the deepest of main characters, either. Went from apparently perfect, upper-middle-class? life to slave to vampire hunter... but she has yet to have any motivations other than that. Even by the end.

So, yeah... Midnight Predator... so far in my Nyeusigrube reread, the cringey-est reread. 

Favorite Line

"A feeding vampire is as natural and simple as a wolf or lion. It's only when the human mind is in control that any creature has the desire to give pain." - Jaguar

Betrayals by Kelley Armstrong - 2024 Reread

Reread Review

So, yes. I am still very, very annoyed with the love triangle aspects of this story. I think Ricky's "solution" to this at the end of the book is a good one. Definitely leaning more into a polycule solution, which is honestly the one I would prefer. I know, I know that main Fae interest in Olivia and the boys is exactly this love-triangle thing and the choice, but I'm really more invested in the lore and mystery aspects of the series than I am the romance.

Much of Betrayals focuses on Gabriel's developing feelings for Olivia and his thought processes surrounding that. I honestly had very little patience for Gabriel this time around. I understand his trauma a lot more due to the short-stories and novellas that have been added to the chronology, but... he should have taken his own thought-advice more often than not. I'm a big believer in communication and that's something Gabriel just tends not to do. It's immensely frustrating, which we definitely see through Olivia's reactions to that non-communicative nature of his.

I had completely forgotten the Hound stuff, despite apparently really enjoying it last time. I did enjoy it this time around. Looking forward to finally finishing the series and seeing if we do, indeed, see more of Lloergan.

I really enjoyed the further world-building around what is and isn't considered Fae. I always enjoy when other mythologies are included in this sort of thing, because there are mythological critters everywhere in the world, not just the British Isles. I definitely liked getting some more on the Cŵn Annwn.

A am apparently repeating myself from 2018 (which I did not reread before typing this out), so I think I'll just end this here. I largely liked Betrayals but I'm really, really hoping we can just finish this love-triangle stuff without boring me to death. Can't wait to finally find out.

2018 First Read Review

Favorite Lines

     "What's their purpose" I asked as I stood.

     "Children? No idea. It appears to be simply an inconvenient stage between birth and usefulness."

     "I mean the gargoyles," I said. - Olivia Taylor-Jones & Patrick

"Life is a sightseeing tour." - Olivia Taylor-Jones

Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

I love Talking to Dragons. Patricia C. Wrede says in her introduction that Talking to Dragons was one of those books that basically wrote itself without her really thinking about it. It feels that way to read. The story grabs you and pulls you along to the end. The whole thing is very good.

It's interesting to know more than the main character. Daystar knows absolutely nothing about his family history and very little about the Enchanted Forest. Whereas, having read the previous three books, we know much, much more. Morwen and Telemain, for instance. We know who they are and that they can be trusted, even is Telemain is messing around with a wizard staff for research reasons, probably. Then there's the whole castle thing and freeing Mendanbar... we know that's where Daystar and Shiara are ultimately headed, even if they have zero clue.

I really quite liked Shiara, Suz, and the young dragon. Shiara's right up my alley, as far as temperament goes. Love those fiesty characters. Suz reminds me a lot of The Worm from Jim Henson's Labyrinth. I don't quite imagine Suz having The Worm's voice, but it's close. The young dragon was a delight. It's nice to see a young dragon, as up 'til now, we've only seen adults. Plus, I think they lend an extra air of whimsy to the whole thing.

I think the most memorable random-happening outside of cameos was the princess and her knight. That seemed to go on a bit, but it was amusing. I was very much of the same mind as Shiara about the princess. Girl needed to grow a brain, that's for sure. Also actually gave a bit of added perspective on how Cimorene was expected to behave when she was a princess.

It seems like Antorell has really gone downhill in terms of intelligence in the 17-ish years since we last saw him. I mean, he wasn't too bright to begin with, but... yeah. Man's got some serious issues regarding his thinking process.

But yeah... Talking to Dragons is easily my favorite of the quartet after Dealing with Dragons. It's refreshing to have that sparkle back after the, uhm, slowness... drudgery... of Calling on Dragons. Definitely a fitting end to the series, even if it was written first.

Favorite Lines

"Being upset is no excuse," Mother said sternly. "If you're going to be rude, do it for a reason and get something from it." - Cimorene

"That," said Morwen, "was a sword. They are long, pointed, and very sharp. You're lucky it didn't take your head off."

A Slight Spoiler Comment

I just want to say that Morwen and Telemain planning on getting married all of a sudden is unecessary, in my opinion. I know that we're basically missing 17-ish years of their lives between Calling on Dragons and Talking to Dragons, but their relationship just wasn't skewing romantically, like, at all in Calling on Dragons.

I remembered that this was a thing and so I was looking for some kind of romance between them... but no. It's just not there. I'm personally going to head cannon it away. They are platonic friends forever in my mind.

Lirael by Garth Nix

Lirael is largely a book of self-discovery. Lirael and Sam are figuring themselves out and being nudged along by destiny at the same time. I will warn that Lirael is quite dark. There are suicidal thoughts, dangerous creatures, and hordes of zombies.

Not gonna lie, the Clayr’s Library sounds amazing and terrifying. Like a cross between The Library (from The Librarians) and Warehouse 13. I think it ultimately does a good job showcasing what magic in this world can DO when applied in ways the characters don’t generally. Personally, I really want to explore it myself.

The Disreputable Dog is interesting. Lirael speaks her into existence, basically. She displays Mogget-like shapeshifting abilities, though is apparently much more of the Charter than Mogget ever was. She’s also a fun character, on top of all her mysteries. When she and Mogget get together, things get more interesting. I will note that The Dog seems to be able to talk more about the old school lore of the Old Kingdom a lot more freely than Mogget ever could, which is, ya know, thought-provoking.

I had completely forgotten about what’s essentially the prologue to Sam and Nick’s adventure. Geeez is it brutal.

I like that there’s a bit of explanation as to why The Book of the Dead can only be randomly remembered. Good to know someone’s looking out for the mental health of the Abhorsens. No one even thinks Sam might need some therapy after his experience. Nah, just “he needs to be busy” apparently and that will fix everything. Sabriel, Touchstone, and Ellemere are all too busy to even ask Sam what’s going on with him. News flash: Sam is not okay.

I really feel like Lirael suffers from not focusing just on Lirael. Not that I don’t like Sam, but his story is just kind of “whatever.” I’m much more invested in Lirael. I do completely understand that Sam is necessary for the story to progress, but I’m just not that into him as a character.

I did enjoy Lirael. It is definitely a stepping-stone to a larger story that needed to be broken up over two books. However, I feel that Lirael is really more about Lirael herself figuring out where she belongs. Lirael also delves more into the lore of the Old Kingdom, which I love. Definitely a good read.

My 2018 Review

Favorite Lines

"Would you believe that no less than a colonel and two captains were here yesterday, wanting me to sign the Official Secrets Act and a declaration that I wouldn't ever speak or write of the recent odd events near the Perimeter? The forgot sign language, so I expect I shall inform a deaf journalist when I get back." - Nicholas Sayre

"So you think someone went to all the trouble to make you a crypt a thousand years ago on the off chance you might turn up one day, walk in, and have a convenient heart attack." - Disreputable Dog

"You go first," retorted the Dog. "My nose still hurts from your stupid relatives' blazing doormen." - Disreputable Dog

Deathwish by Rob Thurman

I honestly don’t know what it was about Deathwish that made it so hard for me to get through. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, because it was enjoyable enough. I liked the addition of new characters and “critters.” I think it’s the baddies in this one that drag it down. The Auphe are attacking at random, as they do. Oshossi is doing the same for largely vague reasons. Just bleh. The stakes are there, they’re just random and mostly boring.

The difference in narration between Cal and Niko is very distinct. Niko is introspective in ways Cal is not. He’s very, very insular. He expects everyone but Cal, it seems, to live up to his ideals of trust. I very much agree that Cherish, at least, was a huge thing for Promise to have left out, but I also understand her reasons for not saying anything about her… sort of. Tell your partners about your kids, full stop.

The cat distribution system works from beyond the grave, apparently.

“Females could be Alphas, unlike in genuine wolf packs.” -Niko - So… we talking wolves don’t actually have Alphas or being stupid about gender in the Alpha BS way? Cuz… dumb, either way. The “Alpha” pair lead the pack, not just one or the other in genuine wolf packs. I will harp on this until the end of time. That “Alpha, Beta” BS is BS.

Seamus has got a case of the friendzone apparently. Well, he’s also Promise’s Ex, so there’s some of that mixed in there. Fun times all around. In comes Cherish, to shake things up between Niko and Promise more. It doesn’t quite track to me that Promise wouldn’t have told Niko about Cherish, but… ehhhhh. Promise has been a bit too perfect up until now.

I like the addition of the Vigil. It’s always nice to have some kind of in-the-know human organization doing something to keep the supernatural community secret from the masses in these kinds of worlds.

Honestly, Deathwish is very introspective. Shit happens that makes the Leandros boys examine their lives and their relationships with the people they’ve let in. Both Niko and Cal relive memories from what passed as their childhood. It’s mostly whatever, though. We’ve always known things weren’t great, but now we have details.

I think I’m overall satisfied with how Deathwish ended, however… it took a while ending. Deathwish really feels like it wants to be the last book in the series with how long it took to properly end and how much it tied up. Definitely not my favorite book of the series, not by a long shot.

Favorite Lines

"But there's no such thing as the best. There's good enough, though. Sometimes." - Cal Leandros

"Death by Auphe or MSG; both are too hideous to contemplate." - Robin Goodfellow

Sunstone: Volume 1-4 by Stjepan Šejić

So, as you will shortly find out, I have been reading Sunstone since I stumbled across Stjepan Sejic's DeviantArt page. So, like, years. I didn't really feel like I had the disposable income to purchase Sunstone when it originally came out, so I just kinda stuck in on a wishlist so I wouldn't forget to purchase it at some point.

Cut to two years ago when I semi-jokingly sent a link to my boyfriend when he asked what I wanted for Christmas. Volume 1 was one of the things he decided to buy me. Now that I had a physical copy of Volume 1, Sunstone went on my "To Read Physical" List.

Cut to now... I have finally purchased all of Sunstone that is currently out and will be reviewing them as I read. That said, these reviews are all pretty short and I've been devouring these things again... so you get multiple reviews in a post.

Enjoy.

Volume 1

2022 Review: I love Sunstone. Have loved it ever since I stumbled across Sejic’s DeviantArt page. I have nothing insightful to say. The art is beautiful and the story is great.

2024 Review: This time around, I really resonated with Ally’s loneliness. I remember living alone and loving it but occasionally that empty house thing just hits and… yeah.

Still holds up really well and I can’t wait to dive back into the rest.

The Sandman: Book Four by Neil Gaiman

Did I procrastinate the heck outta reading this one: Yes. Was It really Good: Yes. Did it get me through a rough couple of work days: Also yes. This collection is largely about endings and it does definitely invoke the feeling of a proper end.

The Castle: I like it a lot. Reintroduction to the “main” characters from The Dreaming.

The Kindly Ones: Interesting for Loki and Robin Goodfellow to be teaming up. I feel like a lot of this was interesting. There’s some closure for some long-running story lines. There’s plenty of action. I feel like Lyta’s story was a but confusing, to be completely honest. But yeah… otherwise pretty good.

The Wake: Beautiful art. Love it. Pretty awesome wrap-up of the series.

Exiles: Interesting art style. The brushy-ness of it definitely brings and other-worldly feel. I’m really not sure what to make of the story. It’s very philosophical.

The Tempest: I think it’s interesting that this story was in the collection after “The Kindly Ones” and “The Wake.” Almost like a meditation on the ends of things, featuring Dream 1.

The Last Sandman Story: Wildly different and evocative art than the rest of this collection. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Favorite Line

"Most people don't realize how important librarians are. I ran across a book recently which suggested that the peace and prosperity of a culture was solely related to how many librarians it contained. Possibly a slight overstatement. But a culture that doesn't value its librarians doesn't value ideas and without ideas, well, where are we?" - Lucien

Steel's Edge by Ilona Andrews

Steel’s Edge is, uh, interesting. Endlessly entertaining, yes. Completely cohesive… eh. Not sure on that one. I feel like that’s an issue stemming from introducing new characters and having to get to know them before ultimately finishing up the series completely. It’s not bad, but it does feel like two books in one.

I quite like Charlotte. She’s an interesting dichotomy of a character. She’s sheltered and innocent, but also very much not. She comes across as rather waifish, but she’s very much not. Behind that poised exterior is a spine of steel. Her trauma hits her at least once, which was nice, but the rest of it is mostly glossed over.

Richard ultimately feels like a better spy than Kaldar was. I mean, they both have their strengths, but Richard seems more believable to me.

I liked the Richard/Charlotte romance. They’re both damaged in different ways but just seem to fit well together. Probably my second favorite of The Edge couples. I’m really indifferent to the romance parts, but there we go.

I enjoyed the initial hunting down slavers part of the plot. Having George and Jack involved was kind of meh… I’m not entirely sure I needed closure as far as their father went, but we got it. I’m also pretty sure someone would have figured out the fireplace thingy without Jack, but it’s whatever.

The second half of the plot was more upper-crust maneuvering than anything else. Gotta building up that Weird world-building, I guess. It wasn’t super interesting, to be honest.

But yeah, I really feel like Steel’s Edge is two-for-the-price-of-one kind of book. Pretty good, but really not a super satisfying ending to a series.

Favorite Lines

"Congratulations, he told himself. You've finally managed to get yourself killed and by an amateur, no less. Your family would be so proud if they knew." - Richard Mar

"You feel that way in the heat of the moment because you look at your father and see the legacy of his crimes. It brings you deep shame. You want to wipe it clean and right the wrongs, but killing him wouldn't undo them." - Richard Mar

"That's a wild exaggeration. I was a quarter-dead, at most." - Richard Mar

Just a Cool Bit of World-Building

"In the Broken, Jesus Christ was viewed as the son of God, and his followers are Christians. In the Weird, it was John the Nazarite, whose followers are called the Nazaratians. In the Weird, a Christina would be names Johanna." - Charlotte de Nay

Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce

Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce

2020 Review:

I had honestly forgotten a majority of this book since I read it last. Might do again, given how much I read, but that’s just my brain.

Pretty awesome, altogether. Kel’s well suited to taking care of people, which is what she does throughout. Part of the ending made me choke up, which is good. I rarely get choked up at book these days.

2024 Review:

So, as my review from 4 years ago states, I had forgotten, like, 99% of what happens in Lady Knight. That's definitely not a bad thing, just a thing that I apparently do with books I haven't read in a while. Lady Knight is worth remembering, though, as I feel it shows off Kel's skills and tendencies in a really fun way.

I feel like Lord Wyldon definitely picked Kel's first knightly assignment well, even if it did end up having unforeseen consequences. As young as she is, it's really impressive that she manages to keep her refugee camp well under control. This is partially from her learning from Lord Raoul and just Kel's own tendency to take control in a manner more befitting a "commoner." I also feel like Kel has more empathy toward pretty much everyone, so that definitely helped.

Lady Knight is interesting in that it takes place over 7 months, instead of the 4 years of Page and Squire and the year of First Test. Much of that time is spent in Haven, Kel's refugee camp, where we get ourselves invested in Kel's refugee charges. I didn't really realize this until later, but it's actually really important, because otherwise, I'm not sure we as readers would be all gung-ho about Kel hauling off to go rescue them later. It's totally within Kel's nature, but we needed attachment to them and there's only one book to do so and not even the whole book... anyway... it wasn't boring and Tobe and Meech are the kiddos I'd lay my life down for.

There's a paragraph in my personal notes where I wax poetical about Kel, Neal, and Merric being babies. Like, seriously, they're 18 in this book and 18 year olds are just... ahhhh. I could not imagine being one of those refugees faced with literal teenagers... I get that they're adults in the medieval-y fantasy world Pierce has concocted, but still... 18 is so young.

I was, again, moved to tears by all the coming together in support of Kel. First Raoul sending Dom and his squad out, then Neal, Merric, and them, then Owen and Tobe... just... tears. Many of them. And again at the very end... Lord Wyldon, my dude, has apparently completely come around.

Uh... yeah. Pretty much all I have to say on the subject. I really liked Lady Knight and I think it's a fitting end to Kel's quartet.

Remembering Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce

 Possible spoilers for Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce. Sorry, not sorry.

I feel a little compelled to write this before I start rereading Lady Knight partially because I've read my current review (which will be posted with the new one later) and because I think I'm actually remembering a bit. My current review of Lady Knight is short and basically says that I remember nothing about it. This was in 2020.

So, basically what I'm remembering is about Maggur's metal devices. In Squire, Kel manages to bash one "to death." I'm fairly certain they're somehow powered by the souls of children. I'm also fairly certain this is made clear during Kel's Ordeal by The Chamber's vision.

I also think I remember something about a battle along a shoreline involving Peachblossom and/or Hoshi. I confess I could be mixing that up with something Alanna did in Song of the Lioness, but I really don't know. Well... I do, because what I'm remembering didn't happen in Song of the Lioness so... yeah. Still feels a bit like a misremembered something or other.

Ah, yes, Cleon and Kel break up. Pretty sure that's something that happens. I do not remember whether or not they end up sleeping together before that, but they definitely break up. Cleon's got that whole arranged marriage thing and Kel's nowhere near the mindset to get married and have kids and all that.

I know this isn't much and I'm definitely not remembering as much as I did in my other Remembrances, but I had to get it out of my system before I started rereading Lady Knight again.

In Other News

In finished another OviPets project! Cyberdramon, based on the Digimon of the same name. Cyberdramon took me approximately 8 months to complete.

The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce

I quite enjoyed The Realms of the Gods even if it did feel long at times. I do feel like The Realms of the Gods is supposed to be more epic feeling than it is. That might just be a me thing, but Daine and Numair’s encounters and travel through the Realms are just over really quickly. There’s no time to dwell on even descriptions of the places they’re traveling through, unless you’re an old rickety bridge. That said, it was a rather convenient way to skirt around writing a whole war. That last battle, though, was a proper epic battle. I’ll have to read it again to catch all the details.

I really did not remember the Darkings origins were in this book. It is both interesting and scary that Ozorne created them. As I definitely remember reading the Daughter of the Lioness, I remember the Darkings, but I do not remember them being nearly as active as Leaf and Jelly. They’re stirring pots! Definitely not a skill Aly’s Darkings display later in the continuity.

I should probably mind the Daine/Numair romance… but I don’t. Probably because I’m use to it. My second and most-read of Tamora Pierce’s books was The Protector of the Small quartet in which Daine and Numair were already a couple. Seeing the beginning of that relationship is kind of fun, even if it does bring the age difference into it… which also doesn’t bother me. Like, at all. Genuine love and affection can happen between people of disparate ages, which is fine if they’re adults. I think Daine’s either an adult or close to at this point so… zero issues.

Honestly never thought I’d see the day when a main character uses their own poo as a weapon. Wow.

I did quite like the representations of the gods there at the end. The Cat putting in an appearance was a nice little wink to the audience. I did think, as I said before, that the actual Realms could have done with more description, though I did like what we got. I only wish there was a map.

In Other News

I finished an OviPets project! This is Tyrannomon, based on the Digimon of the same name. Tyrannomon took me approximately 5 months to complete.

Betrayals by Kelley Armstrong

Originally Posted to GoodReads: December 10, 2018

If there's one thing I really, really hate above all else it's relationship drama. I know, realistically speaking, relationship drama is a thing that happens and it's unavoidable but... ugh. I hate it. That said, Betrayals handled it fairly well. It helped that there were snippets of the story from Gabriel and Ricky's POVs. It wasn't dramatic for drama's sake. I did spend almost the entire book going "More threesomes, less triangles" because the whole triangle thing is just annoying.

But anyway, I did enjoy the world-building. The world of and around Cainsville is intriguing. The wider world of the Fae and other mythologies is a rich one and to have at least some of it explored is great. I appreciate it, a lot. I enjoyed the parts with the hound. Hope she comes back more often.

I'm really not sure I have much else to say about Betrayals. It's definitely good, but not as stellar as the previous ones... but then, I've been reading a lot this year and don't think I reread the Cainsville series so my esteem might be clouded by time. Again, the relationship drama drives me batty so... yeah. More of that means less enjoyment from me, most of the time.