Vaginal Fantasy Book Club discussion

I have to say that I am liking Ms. Sinclair's prose. And Chaz is interesting. It's always very intriguing to see any part of the world through a woman's eyes.

I have to chuckle though because she has written the line, "Why are the handsome ones always such bastards?" I know the answer to that one but will refrain. I hope this thread gets the ball rolling on talking about this book! 67 pages in and I am liking it so far.

I'm enjoying it so far. Just read the first chapter last night and will read more on my travels today.
Favourite quote so far: "And now that I find I'm in need of one particular beautiful, interfering bitch, I can't think of one better."

Megan wrote: "I'm enjoying it so far. Just read the first chapter last night and will read more on my travels today.
Favourite quote so far: "And now that I find I'm in need of one particular beautiful, interfe..."

I am not seeing the Chaz character as a bitch though. I'm seeing her as tough and maybe harsh... Sully must know something we don't yet. ;-)

Rob wrote: "Megan wrote: "I'm enjoying it so far. Just read the first chapter last night and will read more on my travels today.
Favourite quote so far: "And now that I find I'm in need of one particular beau..."

She's called a bitch precisely because she is interfering. Any criminal might call the cop who interferes with their criminal activity a bitch or a bastard.

Simian wrote: "Rob wrote: "Megan wrote: "I'm enjoying it so far. Just read the first chapter last night and will read more on my travels today.
Favourite quote so far: "And now that I find I'm in need of one par..."

See to me, she is sort of being dragged along, not really interfering. But, I see your point though Simian.

Rob wrote: "Simian wrote: "Rob wrote: "Megan wrote: "I'm enjoying it so far. Just read the first chapter last night and will read more on my travels today.
Favourite quote so far: "And now that I find I'm in ..."

In the past she was exactly that ... an interfering cop not so in "the present" ... but the "endearment" has stuck ;)

endearment? I think the lust Sully has is already there hehe I totally see what you mean though Anya.

I am loving the constant little reframes that Chaz goes through.
Her interactions with Ren assume me. (Hi-6)
As a reader I also enjoy the constant "assumptions" I can't stop making, it's my first book in the genre so yeah, dunno what to expect.
Lastly I can't help but really like and side with Chaz.

Here's something random, under the author's bio it starts with:
"A former news reporter and retired private detective, Linnea Sinclair has managed to use all her college degrees (journalism and criminology) but hasn't soothed the yearning in her soul to travel the galaxy."

She sounds like a protagonist in one of these books, haha!

So far I'm liking the tone of the book...the romantic interests don't seem to loathe each others presence, and they (at least borderline) respect each other's abilities. Not something I noticed was lacking in the previous books until reading this one.

I've only read the first half of the first chapter but so far the writing is really bothering me. It seems sort of amateurish. I'm contemplating whether or not I want to buy the book. Can anyone that's farther in give me advice?

Jesse wrote: "I've only read the first half of the first chapter but so far the writing is really bothering me. It seems sort of amateurish. I'm contemplating whether or not I want to buy the book. Can anyone th..."

That's why we have an alt book, you can jump to that if you want (though we won't discuss it on-air as much the community certainly talks about both a lot on the forums!)

Felicia wrote: "Jesse wrote: "I've only read the first half of the first chapter but so far the writing is really bothering me. It seems sort of amateurish. I'm contemplating whether or not I want to buy the book...."

Ok, guess I'll check out the alt. Thanks Felicia!

Felicia wrote: "Here's something random, under the author's bio it starts with:
"A former news reporter and retired private detective, Linnea Sinclair has managed to use all her college degrees (journalism and cri..."

I'm a writer, and I can faithfully say that I do put in my dreams, goals, fears, triumphs in my writing. One of my villains is just what my dark side would be if I allowed it to come out. Writer's use a lot of themselves. I can definitely see Ms. Sinclair having a criminology degree. ;-)

I have to also respectfully disagree with Jesse, I don't think the writing is amateurish at all.

I'm about 1/4 through so far. I'll add more once finished, but would just like to say one thing at this point. I want obsidian eyes.

I dread to think what would make it into my books then if i included my dreams and fears ect haha :P

Rob wrote: "Felicia wrote: "Here's something random, under the author's bio it starts with:
"A former news reporter and retired private detective, Linnea Sinclair has managed to use all her college degrees (jo..."

I'm actually quite font of the language so far. It's really well written. I'm still a noob to the genre, but this book already beats Twilight hands down.

⌘ Çlint  wrote: "Rob wrote:I'm actually quite font of the language so far. It's really well written. I'm still a noob to the genre, but this book already beats Twilight hands down.
."

I'll agree with Jesse, I also find the writing amaturish though much much stronger than Twilight ... that was just atrocious!

I'm about 1/2 way thorough and has anybody else noticed that the Gulls from Finding Nemo are back again (MINE) even though Sully isn't an all out Alpha. Plus the smut ... it ain't all that smutty ;)

Anya wrote: "⌘ Çlint  wrote: "Rob wrote:I'm actually quite font of the language so far. It's really well written. I'm still a noob to the genre, but this book already beats Twilight hands down.
."

I'll agree..."

But somehow if the Gulls said "Mine!" the way Sully does... it would make one weird CGI cartoon. lol. What do you guys mean Amateurishness? I'm a noob. help me out. what am I missing?

⌘ Çlint  wrote: "Anya wrote: "⌘ Çlint  wrote: "What do you guys mean Amateurishness? I'm a noob. help me out. what am I missing?
"

One of the things for me is repetitiveness. The above mentioned "obsidian eyes" ... I love the word obsidian also but it gets annoying when it's said over and over again. On an other note the jukors - I am told that the characters understand the importance of stopping the breeding and the horror of it but there's something missing in the writing that shows the "oh my God we've got to stop this" that the characters supposedly feel. That's probably my biggest problem with the writing - I'm constantly told what they are thinking/doing but there really isn't enough showing.

I'm in the middle of the book, really loving it. Everytime I'm in front of the computer I can't help reading a few pages =P I really like Chaz, but I looove Sully hehehe

The story besides the romance is pretty interesting too, I wonder if the rest of the books from this collection have Chaz and Sully too? And Ren! I adore him lol he is just so sweet...

I'd say this book is light reading and that is good, because I've just finished Game of Thrones the other day and with this one I can relax my brain a little lol

If I finish this one in the next few days I'l give the alt a try too!

I haven't picked this up yet but the description sounds a lot like Grimspace which really makes me hesitate. I know there are differences but really, woman convicted of doing something she didn't do and gets sent to prison and escapes ...

Anybody read Grimspace that can chime in, is it worth attempting?

Is it just me, or does Ren have a lot of similarities with Abe from Hellboy? (the filmversion that is - I haven't read the comic, so I don't know if there's any differences from the comic to the film)

Ida wrote: "Is it just me, or does Ren have a lot of similarities with Abe from Hellboy? (the filmversion that is - I haven't read the comic, so I don't know if there's any differences from the comic to the film)"

I've not read the comic either but I would agree with that assessment :) So no, not just you!

I just finished this book, and have to say I loved it. I'm not usually a sci-fi girl so this was stepping a bit out of my comfort zone, but highly worth the trip. As a side note I read Grimspace when it came out (probably my only sci-fi since McCaffrey) and while reading this I felt the similarities for maybe the first fourth of the book...then they go in completely divergent paths. Both are great reads; I would say the complement/reinforce each other more than they mimic. Of course that's only my opinion. :)

Finished right now! =D Really liked it, I had never read this kind of book and I really enjoyed it. I'll be reading more of them from now on =)

Favorite character SULLY!! yey =P

Eperdu wrote: "I haven't picked this up yet but the description sounds a lot like Grimspace which really makes me hesitate. I know there are differences but really, woman convicted of doing something she didn't d..."

I'm liking Grimspace so far, Its got a whole lot of personality in the writing and lots of little inside jokes. and Jax is pretty badass

I really enjoy the read thus far (I'm about 38% through). I hope it picks up a bit though because I am a little bit bored at this point in the book. Other than that, I really like Chas and Ren but not so sure about Sully. I'll need to find out more about him. :)

I really liked Ren! Definitely my favorite character. I got a little tired of personal bombshell after bombshell. She could have consolidated her info. The writing is good, but not polished yet. Her website lists it as her second novel, which may be why. I just might read more of her stuff so that I can find out.

Argh!!! Really wanna talk about something in chapter 20. How can this be done? Topic based on chapter or wait it out?

Eperdu wrote: "I haven't picked this up yet but the description sounds a lot like Grimspace which really makes me hesitate. I know there are differences but really, woman convicted of doing something she didn't d..."

They are very similar. It starts with a woman being rescued for unknown reasons by their eventual love interest, and the story leading up to the love interest getting together is heavily reliant upon mental powers. They also both meet former love interests at some point in the book, though how that is handled is very different.

The main characters are very dissimilar and the main action part of the plot also is suitably dissimilar, or it was for me.

I believe there are more sex scenes in Gabriel's Ghost, but I absolutely hated them. 'Oh, we're merging minds and he touched me and the end.' Grimspace handled it better, I believe.

Felicia wrote: "Jesse wrote: "I've only read the first half of the first chapter but so far the writing is really bothering me. It seems sort of amateurish. I'm contemplating whether or not I want to buy the book...."

I thought the alt book's writing was even worse, especially for the first half. After that, I'm not sure if it improved or if I was suitably engaged that it no longer mattered.

---

I liked the writing in Gabriel's Ghost just fine. It wasn't brilliant, but it was good. I was very fond of the world building; the religion and its hinted complexities (though are there more religions?), the different life forms (which I also liked in Grimspace), and the prejudice against those with psy abilities. The characters were engaging, and even though I didn't like Sully, he was a believable character. (I didn't think Rhys was, but I only read half-way through The Iron Duke because he was so awful.) I didn't like the ending; it didn't wrap things up neat enough for me, but it was alright otherwise. Overall, a good read. =)

Anya wrote: "I'm about 1/2 way thorough and has anybody else noticed that the Gulls from Finding Nemo are back again (MINE) even though Sully isn't an all out Alpha. Plus the smut ... it ain't all that smutty ;) "

What have I started with this gulls thing, lol! Haven't got that far yet, I hope it's not too grating.

Anya wrote: "One of the things for me is repetitiveness. The above mentione..."

I've heard this described as "Writer's Echo" (I wish I could remember where!) and it drives me crazy, not least because I'm often guilty of it myself. So much so that I force myself to proofread posts like this to make sure I'm not doing it! It's as though when writing, your brain latches on to a particular word or phrase it considers neat and tries to use it in as many places as possible. It sticks out terribly for me, even hundreds of pages apart, and it can be cringeworthy. Romances seem particularly bad for it. And I've just had to take three occurrences of the word "really" out of the last two sentences. *facepalm*

The writing in this book feels pretty simplistic, more YA slanted in some ways. It's nice to be able to speed through a book, but I hope we can be offered some more advanced books in future.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as the books that we've read previously.

My favourite character was Ren and I found myself wanting to read more about him than Chaz or Sully.

I found myself wanting to read more about Ren's relationships with either Sully or Chaz more as well. I think Linnea Sinclair should write a book focused on him :)

Lisa wrote: "I found myself wanting to read more about Ren's relationships with either Sully or Chaz more as well. I think Linnea Sinclair should write a book focused on him :)"
I THINK #3 is about Ren? Not sure, I think he gets a book though!

Finished the book last night! While I liked the book there were some things that got me a little peeved. (view spoiler)[
I really hated the secrecy that surrounded Sully and what he was. I also didn't like the fact that he marked Chaz as his ky'sara without her permission. I wouldn't have taken that as well as she did. I understand that she loves him, but what if Phillip is right and those are his feelings and not hers? I like Sully as a character and like to think he wouldn't do that to her, but we as readers really don't know what's going on inside his head. I'm assuming if I continued to read the series I would get the answer I need.

Also, The fact that Chaz didn't notice that Berri Solaria was in the pictures due to the up-turned chin was just stupid. I knew right when she described the woman in the picture that it was her.
(hide spoiler)]

Jesse wrote: "Eperdu wrote: "I haven't picked this up yet but the description sounds a lot like Grimspace which really makes me hesitate. I know there are differences but really, woman convicted of doing somethi..."

I gotta say, I liked Gabriel's Ghost fine enough, but I LOVED Grimspace. I actually went on to read more books in the Sirantha Jax universe but not the Gabriel's Ghost.

Joanna wrote: "Jesse wrote: "Eperdu wrote: "I haven't picked this up yet but the description sounds a lot like Grimspace which really makes me hesitate. I know there are differences but really, woman convicted of..."

Yep! I agree, I am reading the second book from the Sirantha Jax series. I liked Gabriel's Ghost, but like you I loved Grimspace.

And there are some people questioning if the books are too similar, I don't think so. They do have some things in common but the story is different and the romance too.

Although I did enjoy this book, I found the writing to be a bit distracting. I really liked the world and the complexity & strength of the characters, but personally I thought the writing was a bit less than optimal (though I'm no writer myself). I thought the explanations of the telepathy-type parts were a little clunky. I was glad (just as Chaz was!) to FINALLY get an explanation of Ragkirils and how the mind-bendy stuff works and all of the distinctions between different empaths, but it was definitely a little discombobulating not knowing what was going on throughout the book. Although I'm complaining a bit about the writing, I thought the development as a whole was pretty good. In some of the vaginal fantasy books, the action (not bedroom-style) sort of comes out of nowhere, but I really enjoyed the buildup. Also, although Sully had some alpha-male moments, seeing Chaz think about and react to the data that she acquired slowly throughout the book was really refreshing, as was Sully's desire to collaborate with her and actually take her ideas into account.

Cláudia wrote: "Joanna wrote: "Jesse wrote: "Eperdu wrote: "I haven't picked this up yet but the description sounds a lot like Grimspace which really makes me hesitate. I know there are differences but really, wom..."

I actually found the similarities interesting since they were different stories with a few key similarities.

Plus I don't know about you guys but after months and months of vaginal fantasy I'm pretty tolerant of similarities in stories :D

--disclaimer-- I'm not an avid reader and nor have I read any romance books before. I'm also most of a bottle of Sov Blanc in while posting so keep that in mind.

I enjoyed this book. I used audible.com to get it in while on the road lately. I enjoy scifi and this story was right up my alley. But it was the inner monolog of Chaz that really kept me engaged. My own inner thoughts work in many the same ways. Repetitive and yet focused. I found myself relating and some how imagining that Claudia Black would make a good Chasidah. I of course would be Sully with dark obsidian eyes but I digress. Dam good wine.

The romantic situations were excellent. I think Bonnie will say it needed more smut, "Lady Porn". But for me it was more about the romance and passion then sex. Made it a better story imo. gray fuzzy soft . . . I will admit that was a weird stretch of miles on the highway.

I'm definitely reading the rest of the Dock 5 series.

Isn't it nice to have something simple to read? I don't know about you folks but I certainly don't pick up romance books based on literary merit! I'm enjoying this one immensely.

As I was reading the books, I didn't like Sully that much. I understand why he was withholding information from Chaz. But it was annoying. Sully would be forced to reveal something about himself, Chaz would get upset, then she would accept him and be happy for awhile. Till she learned the next piece of the puzzle, though never being allowed to ask questions.

The pattern kept repeating over and over. I feel like things would have been better if he had given her the benefit of the doubt. Plus....hello, he didn't even ask her about Ky'sara and Ky'sal. You'd think she'd deserve a say.

In the end, I liked the book, but I think I actually enjoyed Grimspace a little more.

I am really enjoying this book. I hadn't read my first romance novel until the inception of this club. I'm surprised how engrossing some of the picks have been but I am particularly surprised by this one especially after not being able to finish The Iron Duke. I liked the steam punk element of Iron Duke but the Alpha male thing was way too overwhelming and I even quit before the rape-y scene. Sully and Chaz's relationship, on the other hand, is so much more relatable (and palatable for that matter). It's a much more realistic example of a "fight-y" relationship turned steamy. The playful element is always there and allows for a somewhat less psychotic dominance interplay that I think is way more representative of that kind of turn on for women. Meaning, a playful dominance (i.e. "mine") is a more universal romantic trope/situation than the perhaps more fetishist I-shall-have-you-in-my-bed-whether-you-like-it-our-not approach.

But I'm finding their fights annoying and her handling of them even moreso. Also, why should she agree to accept him and not ask any questions when he can't accept her as she is which is inquisitive. I would hate to have been Ren during their escape and being the go between (scary high school flashback here.)

Beyond that, I also enjoy the empathic elements and aliens (very much including Ren). On the down side though I agree with others on the amateur issue but I also don't find it distracting most of the time. It only really comes into play for me when the repeated phrases come in (and to anyone who's read mamet or watched grey's anatomy its not so unusual) and during the sex scenes which are less sex scenes and more word association exercises.

Overall, its good fun so far but this thread has made me begin to regret not choosing Grimspace because everyone (including those who like this one) seems to like it more.

I have enjoyed the book BUT

First can writers give characters like one name? The first couple of chapters would have flowed more easily had I not had to stop and translate each nickname.

Second what the heck is up with every book we have read having a "MINE" moment? It feels like a bad day in toddler literary daycare. Just because you like something and plan to have sex with it does not mean it belongs to you! Do grown up people really talk that way in the heat of passion?

I'm at about 33% right now, first time joining in with the monthly reading, and I just came here to comment on the MINE-moments too. I had heard them mentioned on the hangouts, but I find it somewhat disturbing to actually read them. If anyone ever said that to me I'd be hightailing my way out of there immediately. Is there anyone who actually likes reading those mine-comments in fiction?

This it the first time I am trying to read the book instead of just listen to the discussion, but...it may be the last. Granted, I dislike romance novels where the actual romance already happened and now the characters are just catching up.

At one point seemed as though Chaz's thoughts contradicted themselves in the same paragraph. I don't think that is particularly juvenile writing, I am just not a fan of the author's style. Nothing wrong with that.

The "passion" just seems contrived. After, what was it? Three years? What the heck is this supposedly strong woman still hung up on the guy for? Unless there is a lot more to the backstory of which I am unaware, Chaz is just the same as every other weak female character, just with a harder shell.

I also dislike Sully's "bad boy" attitude. If he has so much respect for her that he would touch down on a hostile world, risk his life to save hers and smuggle her off the hostile world in order to secure her abilities...why won't he freakin' tell her anything? It seems more like he is belittling her with his "beautiful bitch" stuff. When men treat women like this it really gets my back up. An insult is not an endearment.

This ended up a little more vitriolic than I intended, but the more I think about it, the less I want to finish the book. But after bailing on the Sword & Laser read for this month, I am not wasting another eight bucks. I do hope that it gets better, but from previous comments, it doesn't sound like. So far I am disappointed.

AnnaBanana wrote: "This it the first time I am trying to read the book instead of just listen to the discussion, but...it may be the last. Granted, I dislike romance novels where the actual romance already happened a..."

I think this is def our weakest pick yet I promise to get something awesome for next month!! And yeah, this MINE crap is so annoying, it's like I can't escape it no matter what I pick!

Felicia wrote: "I think this is def our weakest pick yet I promise to get something awesome for next month!! And yeah, this MINE crap is so annoying, it's like I can't escape it no matter what I pick! "

Well, it is kind of more fun to tear apart a book that isn't so great than have a book that everyone agrees is wonderful and then have nothing to talk about, so whatever you pick will probably be a win/win anyway.