MobileRead Book Challenges discussion

I'm currently reading by Mercedes Lackey and edited by Lou Anders. I'd not planned to read Intrigues right now (since it is book 2 in a trilogy and I like to read series back to back) but I started it as a reward to myself after fighting my way through .

Intrigues was ok. I would give it a 4/5 (but only because I'm a Lackey fan). I really would not recommend this book to someone who wasn't already a fan of the series.

Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery isn't as good as I expected it to be. I purchased this book out of nostalgia to MZB's Swords & Sorceress series. I can't say it's quite up to par. There are a couple of stories I like but not really anything yet that will make me go look for any particular author.

Sabazel is pretty good. Some parts of it are pretty rough but in other parts the story flows.

I agree about Intrigues. I love Valdemar and enjoyed it for the Valdemar ambiance but it is not a good introduction to the world. Oh well, almost every series eventually winds up with the great decline.

True, very true.

I finally finished , here's my review:

I was very excited to read Swords & Dark Magic. When I first heard about the book, I instantly thought of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword and Sorceress series so I bought it based on nostalgia alone. It started very promising – “Goats of Glory” by Steven Erikson is full of action and Gene Wolf’s “Bloodsport” is a refreshing and different look at chess. I can’t say I enjoyed all of “The Singing Spear” by James Enge, but the ending makes the story worthwhile.

“A Wizard in Wiscezan” by C.J. Cherryh was cute but not memorable. “Red Pearls: An Elric Story” By Michael Moorcock was as good as expected – but the book took a turn for the boring soon after. “The Deification of Dal Bamore” by Tim Lebbon was interesting (and boring) but “In the Stacks” by Scott Lynch shines like a diamond surrounded by rocks.

Swords & Dark Magic closes with “The Fool Jobs” by Joe Abercrombie. It’s a good story with decent action and an ironic twist.

That’s the good parts. Almost all of the rest of the stories are just not that interesting. By the end of Swords and Dark Magic, I felt a little let down. My nostalgia for MZB’s Swords & Sorceress may have created unrealistic expectations.

I decided to start before I finish .

I finished today. This is my review:

Shadow by Anne Logston is the story of a female elf thief, Shadow. Shadow arrives in the busy town of Allamere, not knowing her very presence will plunge her into the broiling conspiracy between the Guild of Thieves and the Council of Churches.

This is a cute, quick read. The characters are all basically described and developed, making almost all of them interchangeable. I enjoyed the book, it’s a great beach read – light, slightly humorous, and quick – but it’s not something that I plan on reading again.


It was a decent read - really light, no real turmoil, just a light follow along. Would be perfect for the beach, however!

I did have one grip: Logston gives horrible character descriptions. I have no real idea what anyone looks like. :(

I'm currently still reading and I also started reading .

I also started reading The Voyage of the Minotaur (indie author @MR) and .

By the Sword is a re-read. Can we use re-reads as part of the challenge? I can't remember.

I've read most of the Valedmar series from Lacky. I really do like them overall. I've yet to read Intrigues and the one before it. I can get them from the library as eBooks so I'm good to go when I'm ready.

As for rereads, I see no reason why we cannot use them. They are a full and proper read.

Thanks!

I really enjoy the Valdemar series as well. I'm not as impressed with the Collegium Chronicles as I expected to be. It's certainly a library read, I only purchased out of habit.

Oh well. I was hoping it to be as good as the others. But I guess that happens.

True. I felt she'd started to go this way with her Owl Knight series, but then the books about Skif (which changed his background 98%) and Alberich were released and I really liked them.

I finally finished The Voyage of the Minotaur. Right now I gave it 4/5 stars. It might be too high, but I wanted to be fair. My review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


I'm trying to get back into Sabazel, but if not I will start on either book two of shadow Shadow Hunt or book two of The Voyage of the Minotaur: The Dark and Forbidding Land. Or Geist, lol.

I was good today! I finished Dancing in the Moonlight (Cowboys of Cold Creek, #2) today.

Ok, I haven't updated this in a while! I completed several romances that I don't really care to name, lol. I've also completed and . I am currently reading , , Sabazel, and .

oh, I forgot! I'm also reading because I'm getting a Shih Tzu puppy! (I'm so excited and I just can't hide it.

http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/4...

http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/4...

I finished last night. I have read this series a few times - I seemed not to like it quite as much as I used to.

I've picked up again. For some reason, I just can't really get into the book. I read for a few pages or chapters and then I'm bored or irritated or something. I'm starting to think that maybe there is a running line of tension in the book that I am aware of on a subconscious level. I'm not a big fan of tension for some reason - but I am also not too enamored of Locke Lamora either. He just seems rather like an asshat.

I'm working on LoLL, Geist, and Sabazel.

Geist is really good so far! I'm reading slowly but each section gets better and better. This is turning out to be a very original book and I'm loving it! The magic is very different and the characters are engaging so far. I can’t think of any book to compare it to right now. The only thing that the author has done so far to annoy me is to be a little heavy handed with the foreshadowing.

Sabazel is…different, too. Sabazel started off pretty slow and it has gotten more interesting as time has gone past…but… I guess that the problem is that it is very religious based. Not Earth based religions, it is certainly an alternative land, but religious none the less. The majority of the conflict is based upon religious differences – between a male “father” god and a female “mother” god – who don’t seem to be at odds with themselves, strangely enough. It also has the feeling of the ancient Mediterranean. The male protagonist could be Alexander the Great or any of those famed conquerors and the female is certainly the Queen of the Amazons.

The only other book I’m reading is actually about my new puppy, Barron’s Dog Bible: Shih Tzus. It’s a pretty good book that goes into great detail the things you need to know about particular breeds. Barron’s creates a different book for each pure breed dog – I think I would recommend this to anyone.

Ok, I have to break down and admit that I have been filtering my booklist. :-) I read a lot of romances and erotica in addition to fantasy and whatever else I pick up.

I just finished - I'm not that huge of a fan of this book. It is an erotic romance - space & aliens, not PNR - but I enjoy this series because the author isn't quite so heavy with the sex (but that may be because she writes pretty bad sex scenes, lol) but a lot heavy on the plot and characterization (for a cheesy romance, that is). One of the reasons I'm not too huge of a fan of this book is that the pivotal arc of action is based upon two rapes. The rapes are not described but one of them really don’t add much to the plot. The rape of a secondary character could be a set up for a new book but as it stands doesn’t do much for me.

I am currently also reading the first book in this series . This one is the reason I tolerate the other book. I really love this book and I've read it several times. The plot is totally unbelievable and the actions strain your suspension of belief until there's no choice but to laugh. BUT it is soooo funny! I find myself rolling my eyes every few chapters but I love it anyway. Brianna is the story of a biologist who - against her superior's orders - helps two captured aliens escape. In the chase to stop them, Brianna is transported to their ship. Unbelievable adventure starts NOW.

Brianna is the typical "red haired, green eyed spitfire" whose adventures are so ludicrous that even she thinks it’s unbelievable. I highly recommend this book, especially if you like cheese. :)

I finished and last night.

Monster Hunter International was great! 4/5

It’s an Urban Fantasy where a company of well trained individuals hunt and kill paranormal monsters (vampires, werewolves, etc). Each person who becomes a member of MHI has been attacked by monsters before so this book starts off with lots of action. The book is very fast paced and I really enjoyed it. I’m going to be reading book two shortly.

Alanna the First Adventure 4/5 is a YA Fantasy novel. Alanna and her brother Thom are identical twins. Thom wants to be a great sorcerer and Alanna wants to become an adventuring Lady Knight. The problem is that their father pays no attention to them or what they want. Alanna devises a way to hide her sex and train to become a knight and this book catalogs her adventures as a new page. There are 3 more in this series and I’m pretty excited about reading all of them again.

I just realized that I'm not putting my ratings down. :-( I feel like I should re-organize my thread.

thank you MrsJoseph for recommending the Sue Grafton books, I enjoyed the first one and I look forward to the rest of the series, right up my reading alley

I'm glad you like them! Sue Grafton holds a special place in my heart.

Hmmmm Sue Grafton, I have not read any of hers in quite a few years. Looks like I have some adding to do to my wish list! Now that my books don't take up any physical space I can own them all ... LOL.

You're so right about having space for books now, I think I've become more addicted to adding books to my Nook then reading them but I have to read them to make room to add more LOL

Dawdler wrote: "You're so right about having space for books now, I think I've become more addicted to adding books to my Nook then reading them but I have to read them to make room to add more LOL"

That's where I am right now. I've run out of physical space (but I bought 6 books today, lol! Borders).

I finished - LOVED IT!
Rating: 4/5 stars

It's PNR but it was very fun. I loved the main characters and I enjoyed the book. The story is about a princess who is the leader of a rebel army out to take down her brother's throne. She's a hardcore girl made so by the abuse of her father and brother. She meets up with a dragon - Fearhgus the Destroyer - and he decides to help her. It's an old book I'd read before but I also picked up the newest version of it - because this one contained a separate story showcasing Fearghus' (main character from To Challenge a Dragon) parents.

is the story of Fearhgus' parents. I think the story is called "Chains and Fire." It's kind of cute but mostly it feels a little rushed. I would have enjoyed a longer story; this one left me wanting more.
Rating: 3/5 stars

I also completed by David Eddings.
Rating 3/5 stars
I’ve read this series more times than I can count but I love it regardless. Pawn of Prophecy is the story of a young farm boy named Garion. Garion’s life changes when he and his Aunt Pol leave Faldor’s Farm to chase an unnamed object that has been stolen.


Rating: 3/5 stars
Garion’s story continues. He learns that his Aunt Pol is the powerful Polgara the Sorceress and his grandfather is Belgarath the Sorcerer. Garion learns that they are chasing the Orb of Aldur and more about his parents.

Now, I love this series but the more times I read it the more annoyed I get at the way Garion is treated. Garion was raised as a simple uneducated farm boy. Suddenly he’s thrust into momentous times and expected to adapt quickly. The thing that pisses me off the most is the way they handle the first person he kills. The person he kills is the murderer of his parents. While he did kill in self-defense, he was horrified at what he had done and was having a moral issue. Instead of working with him to help him with this – everyone had an attitude of “just get over it.” I really hated that attitude so it makes me lower the rating of the book. At the same time I love this series so *shrug*

I also completed – YA fiction.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Alanna’s story continues – she becomes a squire to Prince Jonathan and learns more about herself. Great kids’ lit (to me). I read the series as a kid.


As this is Read an Ebook Week, I stopped by AllRomanceEbooks.com to get some freebies. Sometimes you get what you pay for…

– PNR Shifter. Horrible.
Rating: 1/5 stars

– not bad but not good – story of a woman who suddenly becomes a contractual mistress for a rich man.
Rating: 2/5 stars

– Kinda like a BDSM short story anthology
Rating: 2/5 stars (but only because there are so many stories, if not it would have been 1/5)


– I just started book 3, Garion’s quest for the Orb of Aldur continues.

I'm about 1/2 finished with Magician's Gambit.

I finished today.
Rating: 3/5 stars
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

This is the story of Cassandra (a bad tempered office worker who consumes mass quantities of romance novels that star brooding Heathcliff-like heroes and TSTL heroines ) and Connor (an Irish businessman). Cassandra has always daydreamed of being swept off her feet by a brooding @sshat hero. I mean, seriously? Who dreams of crazy men like Heathcliff?

Cassandra goes on a week vacation with her BFF Val where she meets Raphael (who reminds her visually of Heathcliff), Connor, and Trish (who comes across as an anorexic cougar on the prowl). Cassandra immediately is attracted to Raphael (who has a very easy going passive personality). Raphael likes her, too, but thinks she is much calmer and nicer than she really is because she puts on a front whenever he’s around. Connor – who happens to not be as attractive as Raphael – likes Cassandra as well but somehow gets to see “the real her,” temper and all. Conner chases after Cassandra even though Cassandra made it clear that she likes Raphael and Raphael has told Connor that he likes Cassandra.

I liked the relationship that was being built between Cassandra and Connor – but the “love triangle” with Connor’s buddy Raphael was…boring. Raphael was not an interesting character and I’m sure part of that was deliberate on behalf of the author to show how unsuitable he was for Cassandra. Unfortunately this attempt left the character very static and makes it difficult for the reader to understand Cassandra’s attraction at all (yes, I get he’s cute…so what?).

The frequent daydreams that Cassandra has were horribly annoying. I skipped almost all of them except for a few in the very beginning & end. I find it difficult to believe that any functional woman could drop into such complex daydreams so completely so often. Cassandra often dropped into daydreams in the middle of social events and/or conversations, totally tuning out the people she’s with or talking to. Where I’m from that’s extremely rude. The overly long italicized daydreams often happened in the middle of Cassandra’s inner dialogue – which was often confusing and slowed down the pace of the novel. I wanted Cassandra to figure out what she wanted without it having coached around a daydream. I assume that the daydreams were supposed to take the place of the character’s internal struggle. Meh. I think that the worse part of all the daydreams is that the final scene where the two characters get together is almost entirely an italicized daydream. Why? Oh why?

I had some issues with the wording, too. How many times are we going to talk about “cobalt blue” eyes? I get that Cassandra wants to be a TSTL romance heroine (which she does nicely) but don’t beat me over the head with it, please?? And then there’s parts like this:

“That doesn’t surprise me, either,” said Val, who obviously knew more than she was letting on.
“You know more than you’re letting on, don’t you?”
“Just sleep on it, Cassie. You’ll figure out what to do.” Val waved and vanished out the door. Her tea rose scent lingered behind and I sneezed.


In all honesty the relationship between Cassandra and Connor was interesting enough that the love triangle and the anorexic cougar were distractions and did not help make the story more interesting. In fact, it made it less interesting.

I have to admit that I find it ironic that the major “obstacle” that stands in the way of Cassandra & Connor’s romance is Cassandra’s obsession with romance book heroes. Cassandra even goes as far as to burn her romance books and after proclaiming them trash. Hey, isn’t this a romance book? I can admit that the book burning was rather offensive to me. She could have donated those books instead of burning them! Wasteful as well as TSTL.

All in all, a quick and fun read as long as you skip the daydreams and ignore the secondary characters.

I finished and .


Saving Sophie - contemporary romance
Rating: 3/5 stars
Saving Sophie is one of the "friends turned lovers" romances. Sophie and Jake grew up together – he was her big brother’s best friend and looked at her like a little sister (but she had a huge crush on him). He goes off to college, makes it big as an actor and then becomes a famous director. He comes back to town and they get involved. I wasn’t a big fan of Jake. He seemed to spend a lot of time running away – from his past, his emotions, and his mistakes. He doesn’t take the time to think anything out. It’s somewhat fun but a lot of parts are just silly and not worth mentioning.

Magician’s Gambit – fantasy series
Rating: 4/5 stars
Garion’s quest for the Orb of Aldur continues. Now Garion knows that he will play a big part in saving the entire universe and that he has a lot to learn. They locate and retrieve the Orb of Aldur but now they have to run from their enemies and they have to rush to get to Riva by a certain date. Will they make it?


I just started today. Will the group make it away from their enemy’s territory and make it to Riva on time?

Vital Signs 1
Rating: 1/5 stars

Oh man, I don't know where to begin. This book was so implausible as to make it a farce. The hero is a total jackass, the heroine is just stupid. The hero/ine meet in an elevator, at which point he swears at her multiple times as well call her an idiot. Of course that type of action deserves the reward of instant sex. *face palm* This is only the first of many times the hero treats the heroine like doggie poo he wants to get off of his shoe. He's verbally abusive to her for no reason; he humiliates and belittles her - so of course she's in love. I really don't think he was nice to her until the end.

At the same time this abusive relationship is going on, another nurse in the hospital decides to try to have sex with the hero since she was already screwing every Tom, Dick, and Harry she could get her hands on. Since the hero declines her advances, the nurse decides to try to get both the hero and heroine fired(?!) and have them taken to court (along with the heroine's random ex-husband). There are tons of scenes where the nurse is having sex with random people for random reasons. These additional scenes were distracting for no reason. Why should I care that a secondary character is having sex with strangers? What does this have to do with the story line?


All in all, I'd rather go bathe my dog.

I finished Castle of Wizardry and Enchanters' End Game .


Rating: 4/5 stars
Garion and the rest of the group of prophecy have recovered the Orb of Aldur and now must feel the pursuing Murgo army. They have to get to Riva by a certain date.


Rating 4/5 stars
Garion is revealed as Belgarion, the Rivan King and he and Belgarath journey to meet fate and to fight the mad, maimed and despised god Torak. The Armies of the West march against the Angarak Kingdoms and the fate of the Universe will be decided.

I finished Passionate Heat today.
Rating: 2/5 stars

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn't quite it. The story was cute but predictable - childhood sweethearts get back together years later. The relationship had no fire. The two fell back into a sexual relationship the first time the run into each other. There was no tension and I figured out who the arsonist was very quickly.

I'm currently working on , The Man With the Golden Torc, and The Magician's Nephew.

I'm also trying to decide between reading and .

Sheepfarmer's Daughter! I loved The Deed of Paksenarrion. One of my all-time favorites.

Your post reminded me of the Belgariad which I haven't read since I was a teenager (a very long time ago!). I wonder if I should give it a re-read.

Marcy wrote: "Sheepfarmer's Daughter! I loved The Deed of Paksenarrion. One of my all-time favorites.

Your post reminded me of the Belgariad which I haven't read since I was a teenager (a very long time ago!). ..."

Thanks for the vote! I'll go with the Sheepfarmer's Daughter. Someone else told me that it is their favorite book series, hands down.

I would vote for a re-read of The Belgariad...but it'll feel a little different now.

If you read Deed as the three separate books, keep in mind Deed was always meant to be one book. It was split into three due to length. The first book and particularly the second are unsatisfying by themselves.

That's good to know! I have a free copy of The Sheepfarmer's daughter from Baen free library...but the entire omnibus is only $6 - that's an easy sale from me. :-)

Thanks to Loosheesh I've started the Chronicles of Narnia recently. :-D I'm in the process of reading but I skipped ahead to because it's one of my favorites in the series.

- YA Fantasy
Rating: 5/5 stars
This book gets 5/5 stars for staying just as wonderful and magical as it was when I was a kid! It just makes me smile.


I'm also in the process of reading (trying to catch up to a group read), and . After that I'm picking up the .

A quick read at work, I completed .

- PNR Erotica
Rating: 2/5 stars
Boring and predictable, the plot is that a vampire committed the crime of killing a person (by mistake) so he's sent to work in a brothel for 10 years. 10 years later and the hero is on his final night. The heroine is dragged (actually kidnapped) by her trifling friends to the known vampire brothel so she can get some sex. Their reasoning? She was cheated on by her ex (her first lover) and she hasn’t jumped on a new penis since she caught him at it 6 months previously. The H/h meet, have very predictable and boring sex – end of the night. She goes home, he fights his pimp and gets free, they meet up again.

*yawn*

Maybe it should have been 1 star but it wasn’t the worse I’ve ever read.

The Man With the Golden Torc - Urban Fantasy
Rating: 4/5 stars

I loved this book! It started off with a bang (in that way only it kinda reminded me of ) and the pace stayed pretty fast the entire novel. This was my first Simon R. Green novel and he just made a convert. I went out today and purchased 3 more of his books (with plans to buy even more). This is the type of Urban Fantasy that people love – likeable characters, quick pacing, great chases, lots of action and tons of explosions.

The Man with the Golden Torc is the story of Eddie Drood (that’s Bond, Shaman Bond). Descended from a long line of powerful Druids, the Drood Family has been the very secret world police for thousands of years. One of the things that makes the Drood Family so powerful (besides being disgustingly rich) are the torcs that each family member has permanently attached around their necks. These golden torcs - when activated - cover the wearer in an impenetrable suit of living armor that does all types of things. The Droods are also very “Bond- esque“ with lots of super cool Bond/batman-like weapons and tools.

Eddie is one of the best of the Drood field agents - but he's kept on a short leash because he is the type to ask too many uncomfortable questions. Eddie is called back to the "loving" bosom of his family in order to be given a very special top secret mission. As soon as he starts off on his mission he is attacked by a large group of people - and then declared rogue by his family (being declared rogue means that the family hunts you down and kills you). The rest of the novel follows Eddie as he tries to figure out why he was declared rogue…and to prove to his family that no one does it better than him.

At this moment I'm reading:

The Name of the Wind
Sheepfarmer's Daughter
The Magician's Nephew
Noble Satyr
The Blade Itself

PNR = Paranormal Romance

Ususally a romance that would include vampires, weres, etc. Twilight is a good example of a PNR. I have to admit that some writers of PNR go overboard. I once read a Tree Shifter PNR (really creepy, to be honest but it wasn't meant to be) and a Prairie Dog PNR (not as cute as I assume the writer intended).

I haven't read them yet...but they sound pretty good... My TBR list is out of control...

Loosheesh wrote: "My TBR list has only a passing acquaintance with the word 'control', lol. I plan to read one book then get hooked into another ... story of my reading life. I'll be able to stick to a TBR list if..."

That's exactly how I feel! As soon as I get one book off of my TBR about 40 more seem to take its place. :) It's a good (but expensive) habit to have. I used to control myself by the sheer weight of my books...now I have multiple thousand page books in my reader. lol

I picked started reading and this weekend.

The Iron Duke is a pretty good book so far - the world building is excellent and I am enjoying the plot. I am not a fan of the hero at this point in the book (about 1/2 way through). He's just a total jackass who doesn't seem to care who he hurts as long as he gets what he wants. I had to take a break from that for a while.

This maybe TMI but I always keep a few books in the bathroom (until they get so good I have to finish them pronto). This month's bathroom read is Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. It's ok so far. I can see why some people get upset with her parenting and I can also see where some people just don't get her sense of humor. Her humor is rather dry and intellectual - it just so happens that I love standup comedy in that form so I'm used to it - and she doesn't use any emotional punctuation to denote jokes. I'm only on page 25 so the book can go either way.

The Iron Duke - Steampunk
Rating: 3/5 stars

There's a lot of good and a lot of bad in this book. Let me start with the good:

The story/world building is fantastic. The book is set in an alternate Victorian England where the Mongolians (known as the Horde) have slipped nanobots into all of the tea and sugar - infecting the whole of England (with the exception of those who had enough money to run away to America). Once infected the Horde controlled everyone via radio towers. They used them sort of like slaves, regularly creating something called a Frenzy which made them have uncontrolled sex with anyone nearby. These Frenzies allowed them to create more people to infect with nanoagents. This continues for over 200 years (IIRC).

Into this walked the Iron Duke. For reasons unexplained he's nanoagents are different and for this reason he is able to get close to the tower that controls the nanoagents and destroy it. Now the land is trying to gather themselves and learn to control themselves again (the nanoagents controlled their emotions, too).

The story follows Mina - the daughter of a countess who was raped by a Horde member and who is hated for her bi-racial attributes - and the Iron Duke as they race back and forth to discover why (and how) the current captain of the Iron Duke's former ship was murdered.

The plot was interesting and the story was rather fast paced in places.

The Bad:
The characters were...meh. I didn't care a lot, to be honest. I think what made me feel that way is the relationship between the Iron Duke and Mina - which was uncomfortable and somewhat off-putting.

That is what dropped the rating for me from 4 stars to 3. The way things turned out I think she might have done better with removing the majority of the awkward relationship scenes and making this just a straight Steampunk novel rather than a "paranormal romance." The romance was lacking.

Noble Satyr - Historical Romance (Georgian)
Rating: 3/5 stars

Where do I start? Normally I love historical romances but this one didn’t really do it for me. A lot of it is pretty typical: girl is in love with guy (who is way too old for her) and she makes all the moves she can to be with him. The strange parts of this book for me maybe the fact that it was set in France and not England… I was unfamiliar with the typical reactions of the nobles in this instance (I read a lot of historicals so I’m rather used to the ton.)

The heroine is a young, unspeakably beautiful girl (aren’t they all?) who’s father has passed away not too long ago. Because her father was eccentric, he had the nerve to educate her and encourage her to think. She is considered pert and inappropriate because of the [intelligent and/or smart-mouthed] things she says but mostly everyone loves her because she is sickeningly, tooth-achingly sweet. Somehow she is dropped off with her grandfather’s mistress’ living space in the Palace of the Versailles (how the hell she un-chaperoned is a mystery to me). Her grandfather is ill and dying in a different country, her grandmother lives in England. She is trying to get in contact with the hero because she was told he will help her escape her current trouble.

Her trouble is that the Comte de Salvan (who is old, ugly, pockmarked and a lecher) is trying to force her to wed his son (who is a drug addict). The Comte wants the heroine to marry his son because she is young, a virgin, beautiful, and has no one to protect her from him. He plans to get her grandmother and/or grandfather to agree to the marriage and then take her virginity himself (he really likes the kiddies and not in a good way). His lecherous plans include forcing her to become his mistress. Gad, how ugly.

Of course, the heroine is in love with the hero. The hero is considered a horrible rake and the heroine is very pert, so she yells and defends him to anyone who would dare say bad things about him.

There is no fire in their romance, none…it’s a May-December romance where all the H/h want is to be left alone so they can hang out together and shag each other. All of the drama and the plot movement come from outside of their relationship. The lecherous Comte; his crazy, drug addicted son who is subject to rages; the heroine’s trifling, sex-crazed grandmother who is willing to marry her off to the crazy Comte & Co. simply because she doesn’t want to be reminded of her youth by a granddaughter who is just a beautiful as she used to be, etc.

Yeah, I was bored. I like my heroines with a little less sugar and a little more spice. I want to see heart racing exchanges between the H/h. In this book I got neither.

Storm Front - Urban Fantasy
Rating: 3/5 stars

I'm having a hard time reviewing this book. I enjoyed it - there was a lot of action (which I love in UF) and I loved Harry Dresden. That being said, the book is a little weak in the whys of certain plot points. I didn’t understand why (view spoiler)[Harry didn’t trust Murphy enough to be even slightly honest with her. That made me a little PO’d several times in the book. Especially as she comes across as a good friend. (hide spoiler)]

IMHO the strongest parts of this book are the characters. I really liked Harry, Bob, and Murphy so I plan to read more in the series based on my enjoyment of the characters alone (also this series was recommend to me by a person who’s opinion I greatly respect).

For those who didn't want to see the spoiler, I'll put my response behind one:

(view spoiler)[Harry isn't allowed to discuss certain things with mere mortals. Anything that could lead back to the existence of the White Council and certain other things is taboo, so there's a lot he can't tell her. The White Council (or at least some members of it) are looking for any excuse to literally axe Harry. Murphy is smart, and she'll follow the tiniest lead right to the information he's not supposed to share.

Also, some things he doesn't tell her because he doesn't want her to run right out into danger. He's overprotective that way. (hide spoiler)]

All that said, Butcher could have been a bit better at spelling that out more clearly.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Biography/Memoir
Rating: 3/5 stars

"Chinese parents assume strength, not fragility." – Amy Chua, The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

I’m having a hard time both reviewing and rating this book. I think one of the reasons is related to some anger at Amy Chua – she often comes across as unnecessarily harsh and cruel when speaking to her daughters. In fact, she sometimes comes across as crazy.

One of the things I can’t argue with is her results.

Here are several of my comments as I was updating my reading progress:

Page 40: "So far the mother isn't as bad as others paint her. She's a bit of a jackass but admits it. She pushes her daughters too hard - but it seems more because she never figured out what she wanted for herself in life. She became a lawyer because she felt she should - not because she enjoyed it (in fact, she doesn't like law). Her daughters are great musicians...she never was. It’s almost like she's redoing her own life."

I still feel that way after completing the book.

Page 88: "For some reason this has reminded me of an Asian math teacher I had in middle school. She used to divide the room into "students" and "juvenile delinquents." She would call us that and no one wanted to be on that side of the room. I can say that she was the only person who ever felt that I could do math. Everyone else always told me to quit (parents included) when it got too hard because ‘girls aren't good at math.’"

I want to expound on that for a minute. I was raised in the South (US) by parents who I fondly think of as immature. I never had a single extracurricular activity outside of school and when I decided I wanted to be a part of Drama in high school my parents never attended even one of my performances.

One of the things I never had to worry about was my parents making sure that I completed my homework or I understood an assignment. By the time I was in middle school if I couldn’t figure it out myself I was SOOL (shit out of luck). I never learned my multiplication tables because I didn’t want to (and no one made me). By the time I was a senior in high school I’d reached Pre-Calculus (my friends were in Calculus already) I was struggling horribly with math (but I love reading and always did well in English and word related subjects). When I finally broke down and requested tutoring from the teacher of the class, she worked with me for a few weeks before telling me it was best I gave up. She told me often girls have a problem with math so I shouldn’t feel bad. I was transferred to a class called “Statics and Probability.” It was basically where students who didn’t care but needed a final math credit to graduate went. It was full of sexually promiscuous girls and guys who could care less about the class. Hardly any work was done and you would have had to be a master in meditation in order to concentrate in that class.

Reading this book made me think of the only time I had been challenged to actually do well in math. I was in middle school and already a year behind my best friend in math (his dad was a teacher). My teacher split the class in half. She put the “students” on one side and the “juvenile delinquents" on the other. As long as you really tried, paid attention in class, acted appropriately and completed assignments she would allow you to stay on the “student” side of the room. She yelled at us and pissed us off. She was considered the meanest teacher in the school (and crazy to boot). But I also remember her trading jokes with us and being willing to help when we hit roadblocks. I also remember getting an “A” in that class. I earned that “A,” she didn’t give it to me.

My family never pushed me to do anything but always encouraged me to quit if it got too bad. I do agree with this quote: "Chinese parents assume strength, not fragility."

Page 108: "Ok, so her crazy is starting to show..."

This is where she starts to talk about her fights with Lulu and the way she spoke to her children. There are a few things that shocked me in the behavior of both Amy and her daughter Lulu. First, that she would speak to her child in such a horrible manner. Cruelty isn’t necessary for discipline. The other thing that shocked me was Lulu’s ability to act such a fool both in public and private to her mother. In my family I would have had the teeth knocked out of my mouth for daring to raise my voice to my mother, let alone calling her names or breaking things. I’m not exaggerating, my mother would have tried her best to kill me. I am an adult now and that fear my mom instilled in me of her is still in effect. I would never – no matter how provoked – talk to my mother like that in public or private.

I think that if I hadn’t had such raw feelings as to the way she spoke to her children, I might have given this a 4/5 stars. The chapters were light while dealing with heavy subjects: each one is about 5 pages long. She’s honest – brutally so. She’s also rather shallow in some ways: making broad general statements regarding (what she sees as) the differences between “good” Chinese parenting and “bad” Western parenting. Chinese parenting has its downsides, too – Chua acknowledges it (but barely). I know a Korean man whose parents were similar to Chua: he was pushed and talked down to, beaten if he brought home a “B,” and constantly compared to his sister in ways that always left him as a failure. He hates to read, wants nothing to do with education, and was angry at even the thought of this book.

My personal feelings aside, I noticed that Amy Chua’s daughters are accomplished young ladies who will be able to make their own decisions on where they want to go in life. They won’t have the issues that plague a lot of people – that of not being prepared.

I didn’t think of this as a manual on how to raise a child but I think that some of her decisions are sound. Children don’t need to spend hours upon hours hanging out doing nothing. They also don’t need as much free time to spend on the internet bullying each other. Maybe if these internet bullies had someone at home making them practice something worthwhile less children would be killing themselves over embarrassment and hurt feelings.

I did some internet searches on Amy Chua’s children and the below are some things I found:

Chua’s daughter Sophia’s letter to the NY Post: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment...


An article in Time Magazine: Tiger Moms: Is Tough Parenting Really the Answer?

[snip]
If our economy suffers by comparison with China's, so does our system of primary and secondary education. That became clear in December, when the latest test results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) were released. American students were mired in the middle: 17th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math — 17th overall. For the first time since PISA began its rankings in 2000, students in Shanghai took the test — and they blew everyone else away, achieving a decisive first place in all three categories. When asked to account for the results, education experts produced a starkly simple explanation: Chinese students work harder, with more focus, for longer hours than American students do. It's true that students in boomtown Shanghai aren't representative of those in all of China, but when it comes to metrics like test scores, symbolism matters. Speaking on education in December, a sober President Obama noted that the U.S. has arrived at a "Sputnik moment": the humbling realization that another country is pulling ahead in a contest we'd become used to winning.

[snip]

Most surprising of all to Chua's detractors may be the fact that many elements of her approach are supported by research in psychology and cognitive science. Take, for example, her assertion that American parents go too far in insulating their children from discomfort and distress. Chinese parents, by contrast, she writes, "assume strength, not fragility, and as a result they behave very differently." In the 2008 book A Nation of Wimps, author Hara Estroff Marano, editor-at-large of Psychology Today magazine, marshals evidence that shows Chua is correct. "Research demonstrates that children who are protected from grappling with difficult tasks don't develop what psychologists call 'mastery experiences,' " Marano explains. "Kids who have this well-earned sense of mastery are more optimistic and decisive; they've learned that they're capable of overcoming adversity and achieving goals." Children who have never had to test their abilities, says Marano, grow into "emotionally brittle" young adults who are more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/artic...

Christa wrote: "For those who didn't want to see the spoiler, I'll put my response behind one:

[spoilers removed]

All that said, Butcher could have been a bit better at spelling that out more clearly."

That does make a little more sense...

I wish he had have just spelled it out. It made me want to pop Harry a few times...

How are you going with The Name of the Wind?

I found this to be a terrific novel. Right up there with the best that I've read.

Regards
Caleb