Tag Archives: fantasy

Fevre Dream

Book Review of Fevre Dream, by George R.R. Martin

Fevre DreamI borrowed a copy of George R. R. Martin‘s Fevre Dream from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
When struggling riverboat captain Abner Marsh receives an offer of partnership from a wealthy aristocrat, he suspects something’s amiss. But when he meets the hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York, he is certain. For York doesn’t care that the icy winter of 1857 has wiped out all but one of Marsh’s dilapidated fleet. Nor does he care that he won’t earn back his investment in a decade. York has his own reasons for wanting to traverse the powerful Mississippi. And they are to be none of Marsh’s concern—no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious his actions may prove.

Marsh meant to turn down York’s offer. It was too full of secrets that spelled danger. But the promise of both gold and a grand new boat that could make history crushed his resolve—coupled with the terrible force of York’s mesmerizing gaze. Not until the maiden voyage of his new sidewheeler Fevre Dream would Marsh realize he had joined a mission both more sinister, and perhaps more noble, than his most fantastic nightmare…and mankind’s most impossible dream.

Review:
I picked this book up because I wanted to sample Martin’s writing without getting into the LONG A Song of Ice and Fire series and I was basically pleased. There were some things I loved, the main character Abner for example. You just don’t come across many middle aged, fat, harry, warty, UGLY protagonists and I appreciated it. Plus, I just plain liked him.

There were also things I hated, the frequent use of the “N-word” being one of them.  Now, I understand this is set largely in 1857, on the Mississippi River. Slavery was a reality and no, people of the time wouldn’t have used polite language. I get it. But it’s still nails-on-a-chalkboard for me to read and pulled me out of the narrative every-time, especially when the word was used in the narration in addition to dialogue I could blame on a character. Maybe it just wasn’t needed quite so OFTEN.

The story itself was fairly straightforward, but took enough turns to keep things interesting. I did think it was bogged down with steamboat information, but I never quite reached boredom. There were also some interesting moral questions explored by the main characters, though this was only a small part of the book. It had a great ending though.

Al in all, I enjoyed the book well enough to trust the author with a longer series. I’ll happily read more of Martin’s work.

Unmemorable

Book Review of Unmemorable (Unmemorable #1), by A. P. Jensen

UnmemorableI picked up a copy of  Umemorable, by A. P. Jensen from the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
A housekeeper with mad street smarts collides with a supernatural bodyguard who’s been sent to protect her from an underground war that has raged for centuries. 

Raven leads a solitary existence and that’s the way she likes it, but the life she knows turns upside down when her apartment gets gunned down and Cain Henson steps in. Cain’s been sent by a Seer who believes Raven is a woman of prophecy that can control an ancient army that no one can see. 

Filled with mystery, magic, a kick-ass heroine and romance, Unmemorable will lead you on a wild adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the last page.

Review:
Nope, I was not impressed, not at all. The bones of a good story were here. The writing is pretty good. The editing is un-noteworthy, meaning it didn’t grab my attention, which is what you want in editing. But there my praise mostly ends. Yes, I’ll concede that Raven was sassy and determined to remain independent. Both of which are good qualities, too bad they’re completely undermined at every single stage of the book. Every-time she attempted independent action she ended up in trouble, needing rescue.

She’s obstinate to the point of ridiculousness. Well past the point when the truth is impossible to deny she’s still denying it and insisting on going back to work, which is just stupid and suicidal. As is insisting she be allowed to go to the club when people are hunting and trying to kill her. It was so obviously only a chance to get her in a skimpy dress so he could ogle her and move the sex along that I actually cringed. But mostly it was just STSL.

The sex was…oh, wow…bad. When she yelped indignantly, he pulled off her pants and put on a condom. Before she could sit up, he sat with his back against the headboard and pulled her over him to straddle his cock. That’s her loosing her virginity and there is literally NO FOREPLAY (or hymen to deal with). All of the sex is like that, abortive and un-erotic.

There are also a few plot holes that, while maybe not large, annoyed me. First, she is so forgettable that her mother literally walked away and accidentally left her in a park at 1 day old. So, how did she manage to get raised in foster care? How did her Foster parents remember her? Second, if she is so dramatically forgettable how has she made it to 27 without noticing that this is something special? It’s freakin’ impossible. People forget her between one blink and the next, even when standing in front of her. But it did provide the perfect opportunity to show a woman as so stupid she doesn’t even know about herself until a man (Cain) comes along and mansplains it to her. No thank you.

Similarly, she is a Barbie. I don’t mean her physical appearance. I mean the book is full of things she’s never done, never experienced, never tried, etc. It’s so prevalent that I finally decided she didn’t really exist until Cain showed up to see her and take her out of her packaging, because apparently she spent 27 years doing nothing.

But worst of all, the whole this is bloody boring. Almost nothing happens. They play scrabble, talk and watch Lost (an unfortunate and dated media reference). Then nothing concludes or wraps up. As far as I’m concerned it might as well have been a series of random events with no beginning point and no end.

Burn for Me

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

Burn for meI bought an e-copy of Burn For Me, by Ilona Andrews.

Description from Goodreads:
Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

Review:
I almost passed this one up because I find that cover so horrible. But it was on sale at Amazon yesterday and I love the Kate Daniels series, so I gave in and snagged it. I’m glad I did. Turns out the heroine is nowhere near the limpid fashionista that cover makes her look like. In fact, that cover presents the entirely wrong tone/feel for the whole novel. Thank goodness or I wouldn’t have liked it anywhere near as much.

Nevada is awesome. She held her own, kicked some serious ass and still felt like a woman. Rogan is an alpha’s alpha type man and while he was an asshole, I enjoyed his upfront jerkery. Together, however, the two were just freakin’ hilarious. That’s the main thing I appreciated about this book, the humor.

Now, I did think there was an awful lot of, ‘Oh, his manly, masculine maleness is sooo sexy.’ *Rolls eyes* And, while I get that his moniker was Mad Rogan, it felt really strange to hear him introducing himself by that name, as if Mad was his first name. Lastly, the epilogue felt really contrived. But I stayed up until 2am to finish it and if the sequel was out (not until Oct. 2015 apparently) I’d have bought it before going to bed so I could start it today.

Edit: According to I. A.’s blog, the publication of White Hot has been pushed back. 🙁