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noose

Book Review of Noose, by Eric Red

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I won a copy of Noose, by Eric Red, through Goodreads.

Description:

In the cutthroat world of bounty hunters, Joe Noose is as honest as they come. Which isn’t saying much. Just look at his less-than-honest colleagues. They framed Joe for a murder they committed. They made sure Joe’s face wound up on a wanted poster. Now they’re gonna hunt Joe down and collect the reward money. There’s just one problem: Joe Noose thinks it’s his bounty. It’s his reward. And it’s their funeral . . . 

Review:

I’ll admit that I don’t read Westerns very often, almost never. So, I’m probably not a great judge of the genre. But in terms of judging a book…this one simply isn’t very good. It’s very linear, in that this happens and this happens and then this happens, with no red herrings, branches, subplots or anything to break up the straight, obvious path of the plot. It’s essentially one long chase/gun battle. 

Further, there is no grey in the characters to make them interesting. The bad guys are BAD GUYS (often even referred to as the bad men). They murder, and rape, and abuse their horses, and have poor hygiene to boot. The good guys are GOOD GUYS. They’re honest, and heroic and clean. There are exactly two women in the book. They both have pert titties and lush bottoms…and not much else, certainly not any notable sense. Even Bess, who is supposed to be strong and brave is oblivious to the obvious and reduced to a simpering child in need of rescue by the end. 

Then there is the writing. Mechanically it’s fine. But it grated on my nerves. The characters were almost never called by name. They were ‘the cowboy,’ ‘the bounty killers’ (Yes, bounty killers, not bounty hunters. Wouldn’t want us to forget they are THE BAD ONES), ‘the female marshal’ (Yes, female marshal. Not just marshal because wouldn’t want us to forget that she’s female most of all.), ‘the female criminal’ (Yep, she’s female too.), etc. etc. The river is never just the river. It’s the Snake River every time it’s referred to. Never-mind that I’m not likely to have forgotten which river it is or expect it to have changed. The horse is given an oddly anthropomorphized POV. The whole book is repetitive, using the same words to describe things again and again. And Red has a strange attachment to couples in his adjectives. No one is a big man. He’s a big, broad man–two adjectives and a noun, over and over again.

My Brother's Husband

Book Review of My Brother’s Husband, Volume 1, by Gengoroh Tagame

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I won a copy of Gengoroh Tagame‘s My Brother’s Husband through Goodreads.

Description:

Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki, father to their young daughter, Kana. Their lives suddenly change with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, affable Canadian named Mike Flanagan, who declares himself the widower of Yaichi’s estranged gay twin, Ryoji. Mike is on a quest to explore Ryoji’s past, and the family reluctantly but dutifully takes him in. What follows is an unprecedented and heartbreaking look at the state of a largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture: how it’s been affected by the West, and how the next generation can change the preconceptions about it and prejudices against it.

Review:

I thought this was very cute and sweet, if a tad heavy-handed in its moral instruction. Especially in the use of the daughter to instigate award questions that lead to further thought and acceptance. But I also acknowledge that this was originally published in Japan and translated for the English-speaking public. I’m not going to judge what is or isn’t needed or passes/doesn’t pass for standards and norms in another culture.

I liked the bear-like art, the positive representation of divorce, and the way the reader is given access to both the panic inside Yaichi’s head and the polite things he actually says. I’d certainly read the next installment.

My Once and Future Duke

Book Review of My Once and Future Duke (The Wagers of Sin #1), by Caroline Linden

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I won a copy of Caroline Linden‘s My Once and Future Duke through Goodreads.

Description:

What happens at the infamous Vega Club . . . 

Sophie Campbell is determined to be mistress of her own fate. Surviving on her skill at cards, she never risks what she can’t afford to lose. Yet when the Duke of Ware proposes a scandalous wager that’s too extravagant to refuse, she can’t resist. If she wins, she’ll get five thousand pounds, enough to secure her independence forever.

Stays at the Vega Club . . . 

Jack Lindeville, Duke of Ware, tells himself he’s at the Vega Club merely to save his reckless brother from losing everything, but he knows it’s a lie. He can’t keep his eyes off Sophie, and to get her he breaks his ironclad rule against gambling. If he wins, he wants her–for a week.

Until now. 

A week with Jack could ruin what’s left of Sophie’s reputation. It might even cost her her heart. But when it comes to love, all bets are off . . .

Review:

Having just finished My One and Only Duke, I figured I might as well stick with the ducal theme and read My Once and Future Duke next. When I cross-posted to Amazon/Goodreads, I gave both books three stars. But this is a good example of how inadequate that middle rating can be, because I like My One and Only Duke a lot more than My Once and Future Duke. There was simply more meat to it. But neither was good enough for a 4-star or bad enough for a 2-star.

I thought this book was perfectly adequate. The writing was sound and the characters unobjectionable. But it was a fairly one-dimensional story, focusing quite heavily on sex. Which is fine. I’m not complaining on that front. But I was a tad bored with the book, on the whole. All in all, this is one of those books you finish and go, “Meh.” It wasn’t great or horrid, but it passed the time pleasantly enough.