Title: The Sound of Blunder Author: J.A. Konrath & F. Paul Wilson In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Comedy, Easy reading Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Pocket Books Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: Hey, did you eat all the duck sauce?
Mick and Willie are in a buttload of trouble with their drug-dealing boss. But things are about to get a whole lot worse…
This was a pretty tripped out story. In more ways than one.
It starts off with two total douche bags who owe a pound or so of cocaine to their boss. But it’s been baked into a cake. Now, I’m not really sure what happens after that, whether they eat the cake, or they actually time travel. But shit just gets weirder and weirder and weirder as the story unfolds.
Like seriously weird. So weird that I can’t actually explain what is going on… or how I feel about it… or really anything.
Title: The Clockwork Goat and the Smokestack Magi Author: Peter M. Ball In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Steampunk Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2009 5th sentence, 74th page: It was not until the fourth day that the copper door swung open, magically, before the sharp rat-a-tat of the goat’s knock.
The smokestack Magi has a surprise waiting at his door. Is the goat another Trojan horse, or a true offering of peace? It will take him a while to find out…
So many of the steampunk short stories that I have read so far have featured the entire idea that pride comes before the fall. And this is no different from any other. It also reminds me of the tale of the Trojan Horse. And reminds us that maybe we should take what is offered in the spirit which it is offered, instead of being prideful and resentful.
I love the image of a tiny little clockwork goat sitting amongst the darkest of the streets. And being the downfall of the most powerful man in the city. The innocence and cuteness which I associate with goats (I’m not entirely sure why) is seared into my brain and works perfectly well with the image that a clockwork goat has created in my brain. Certainly a story that I want to read again and again and again.
One of my biggest faults as a PhD is that I don’t tend to go in and make connections with people. Mostly it’s because I’m a little too shy… partly because it takes me a long time to get into the University. But really, mostly because I’m just not good at social interactions, and I’m not overly interested.
This week was a little different… I actually went into the university, met some new people and did something! And it was more interesting and less frightening than my crazy brain had anticipated.
So that makes me wonder why I’m always so hesitant to join in on any networking opportunities within the University. I actually tend to enjoy them. And I certainly discover a lot of interesting things.
Yet, I know that next time I have the opportunity to attend such a thing, I will be just as nervous and jumpy as every other damn time…
Enter the forbidden and recklessly exciting world of the demon horde and their willing victims…
I loved the prose in this. It was jumpy and a little all over the place. Quite sharp and to the point. And not really the kind of prose I would have expected from a novella in a paranormal romance collection. It wasn’t really that heavy on the romance either, that was just kind of slotted in. Which I appreciated immensely. After all, what I like about this series (the novella that I have already read anyway) is the darkness of it and the intensity.
This is the start of Hunter Kiss, a little romantic introduction that (I’m assuming) sets you up for the rest of the series. And it is one that worked really very well for me. I found it thoroughly enjoyable, if anything, a little too enjoyable in that it makes me want to not finish any of the other books on my “currently reading” pile and just jump straight into The Iron Hunt. It is taking a lot of self-control to not do this. And to you know… continue doing the work that I’m actually supposed to be doing (that I get paid to do).
This isn’t the fast-paced novella that I was expecting. Although there are demons and external impacts on Grant and Maxine, most of the story is about them getting to know each other. Specifically, it is about Maxine being introduced to her reader in all of her weird and abnormal glory. And what an introduction it is… now to hide The Iron Hunt somewhere safe so I can be a little more productive in my life…
5th sentence, 74th page: The pin twinkled at him, its emerald brilliance almost blinding.
Every seven generations the seventh sister returns. And Maggie Gleason is there to witness it.
I both loved and hated this story. I loved the feeling of Irish folklore, love of land and ancestry. But I didn’t really enjoy the fact that two lovers were kept apart for twelve years. And there really isn’t any actual reason for this separation… it felt angsty, but then fell a little flat when there was no reason for such angst.
Maggie and Conall are obviously meant to be from the very outset of the story, but circumstances and fate are keeping them apart. Which is kind of painful. And more than a little frustrating. But I loved the imagery and the potency that is described throughout the story. Which made my slight discomfort at the distance of lovers almost disappear… and left me with this feeling of contentment and happiness.
They had just been pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.
Then another boy from her past returns to her life, and Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too.
Can a girl be in love with two boys at the same time?
The first half of this book I absolutely loved. It continued to build on the themes and storyline from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. It starts with Lara Jean and Peter beginning their own relationship and actually making a go of it. You know straight away that Gen is going to be an issue (after all, she’s the perfect teenage girl antagonist), but at the beginning it works really well. And then I started to get frustrated…
I enjoy Lara Jean’s confusion at the two boys – John and Peter. When you’re going through puberty and just discovering what it’s like to date boys, it can be incredibly confusing. And when more than one guy shows an interest in you, it’s hard not to return the favours. Regardless of the circumstances. The love triangle also helps to add a little spice to the story as things go from sweet to rocky in her relationship.
The reason that this story frustrated me so much was the second half. Lara Jean takes control of her relationship and life, and puts her foot down on the ways that she should be treated. And then she goes back to the guy that isn’t treating her right. It almost made me scream. I understand it to a degree, and part of me still loves Peter (although that may mostly be because of the movie), but it is kind of sending a message that people can treat you however they want. I know it’s something that I would never stand for, and I would hope that my friends and loved ones would have a little more self-respect under similar circumstances. Hopefully this will all make sense in Always and Forever, Lara Jean.
Her partner died two years ago. And now she has a mysterious stalker. When her ex-partner comes back from the dead, she finds out that her life is about to completely change.
When I started reading this story, I didn’t really understand how it tied into the idea of vampire romance (since I found it in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance). It starts out with a cop who is being stalked. And I kind of assumed that this stalker was probably going to be a vampire… but still, it was probably the least romantic of the tales in this collection so far. At least at the beginning, the end had that za za zing that I’ve come to expect.
The premise that there are a bunch of rogue vampires running free, and that Tim is desperate to stop them with the help of his old partner was kind of fun. That it involves sex, romance and true and deep love just made it all the more intriguing. It did, however, annoy me a little that his condition was caused by a creepy little girl with a crush… but I digress, the story wouldn’t have happened without this catalyst.
All in all this was a fun and engaging short story that featured a vampire, sex and crime. There’s not really much more I could ask for from a vampirific short story.
Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.
They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved – five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secrets letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
I absolutely loved the Netflix movie of this. It left me with such a happy, little feel good moment after I finished it. So I figured that the book (and as I soon found out the trilogy) would be an interesting read. And, since I finished it in one sitting, and then bought every other Jenny Han book that I could find, it was certainly an enjoyable read.
This was an easy, simple, happy read that made me incredibly happy. It was just a nice journey through a sixteen year old’s mind as she tries to navigate the trials of falling in love, becoming an adult and just generally dealing with other people. Because, as it becomes incredibly obvious throughout To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, people can seriously suck! Although, there are also moments that really remind you how awesome they can be as well. Especially Lara Jean’s relationship with her family. She obviously dearly loves her father – she constantly calls him Daddy (I actually found the constant referral, even in front of others of ‘Daddy’ to be quite annoying). She has a great relationship with her sisters. She misses Margot dearly when she’s gone and spends a lot of time with Kitty.
For as much as the relationships in this cute little romance are realistic, it’s the sisterhood bond that I loved the most. There is so much love in every moment. But there is also a lot of vindictiveness and pettiness. I have a sister. We love each other till the ends of the earth. But we would also do and say horrible things to each other. After all, we are stuck with each for the rest of our lives… and when you are with someone day in and day out, you get to a point that you kind of want to kill each other… and in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before it’s that exact revenge-driven, love you emotion that only a sister can understand that starts the entire saga.
Title: Old School Author: Mark Onspaugh In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Comedy, Fantasy, Zombies Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Pocket Books Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: It wasn’t even Old English like Chaucer or something.
Onspaugh reminds us that there is a reason you should never play with that which you don’t understand…
This is an incredibly quick, short, sharp and shiny tale. That mostly reminds us not to play with zombies, rituals and reincarnations of any shape or kind.
Six pages and the story has been through an entire rollercoaster of beginning, middle and end. And the only message and idea that I got from it was that I’m not reading out or performing any rituals at any point in time.
I repeat. Do not perform seances, rituals, anything of the sort. Unless you really, really, really know what you’re doing. Otherwise you’ll end up like the people in this story…
Tell your lord to beware, the wolves smell danger in the wind…
Wolfhaven Castle has been attacked, and only four escape capture… Tom, trained to scrub pots, not fight; Elanor, the lord’s daughter; Sebastian, a knight in training; and Quinn, the witch’s apprentice.
Somehow, if they are to save their people, these unlikely heroes must find four magical beasts from legend. But first, they have to make it out of the castle alive…
This is a beautifully easy, fun and light-hearted book. With enough of an adventure-based storyline to make you reluctant to put it down. At least as an adult. I’m sure if this was around when I was a child, I would be far more involved in the storyline and think it was a more intense literary experience than I do as a more widely read adult.
I like the four young adults in this story – they’re on the cusp of adulthood and finding their own way. But there is already a sense of comradery and togetherness that works from the very outset. Each of the four is given their own gifts (literally and metaphorically) and although there is just an inkling in the first of The Impossible Quest, there are hints that these are going to develop in so many ways.
This is a pretty typical young adult, coming of age adventure story. Which is why it’s so lovely. Forsyth has an amazing way with words and this helps to spin a vivid and intriguing storyline. Partner this with that beloved simplicity of the genre and the idea that both fate and courage play a part… and Escape from Wolfhaven Castle is a great introduction to a new world and an epic quest.
Title: The Sound of Blunder
Title: The Clockwork Goat and the Smokestack Magi
Title: The Seventh Sister
Title: To Ease the Rage
Title: Old School
Title: Escape from Wolfhaven Castle
