Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Catching Up with some Minis!

Summer's craziness finally caught up with me. So far July has been a month chuck-full of distractions -- the World Cup, my brother's huge birthday bash, preparations for my mother's upcoming 82nd birthday on the 16th, plus the walks and the BBQs and the fun.

The down side? Both my reading and writing have suffered, I'm too distracted and happily tired by end of day to read much or write, although of course I've read a bit -- can't go without some reading. Since I haven't finished any of my reviews, I decided to share a few mini-impressions of some books I read these past months but never reviewed.

Blaze of Memory (Psy/Changeling series) by Nalini Singh

The story of Dev Santos and Katya Haas, this is not my favorite book of the series. I enjoyed the overall storyarc and discovering details about the Forgotten. However the romance itself was not one that kept my interest. Dev was not a character that I loved and Katya didn't make much of an impact. Although for me the romance was lacking, I thought that with this installment, Nalini Singh continued to keep the worldbuilding tight and intriguing, added newness to it and answered questions along the way. Grade B

Stroke (Psycop), Thaw (Psycop), Kindred Spirits by Jordan Castillo Price

Stroke and Thaw are very short stories and part of the popular M/M Psycop series by Jordan Castillo Price. One is a Holiday story and the other is a moment in Victor and Jacob's lives. They are both self-contained short stories that make you want to know more about both the characters and the series. I was certainly curious. Both stories Grade: C+

Kindred Spirits is an amusing encounter between two men at a party. Adam thinks he has developed the ability to see into other people's souls and he thinks John might be a kindred spirit. I had a good laugh at the end of this story when after the encounter Adam seems to have been both right and really quite wrong. :) Grade: B-

Moonstruck by Susan Grant

I had Moonstruck on my pile of books to be read for almost a year. I can tell you up-front that this was a great sci-fi/romance read. The sci-fi plot and details were there, but so was the romance -- we're talking one hot couple here! I loved that Britt Bandahar was a strong, tough, kick-ass captain who didn't take crap from anyone. She fell in love, despite incredible prejudices, with a man who was her enemy. And Finn? Finn, being the male in this tale and an alpha male at that, was one of the best parts of the book. Why? Because HE was the one who was Moonstruck! He fell for Britt hook, line and sinker and I loved it! I had some slight problems with the way the world was presented, but there's no question that I truly enjoyed the romance. Grade: B+

I have a few more first impressions to post, but for now I'll leave you with these. Hope you're enjoying these summer days -- mine are hot, humid and hazy! Keep on reading!

8 comments:

  1. Busy here too and my laptop isn't working so I have to share the desktop with the kids. :(

    I think I have Moonstruck on the tbr pile - I know I have a few of Grants there. I do have her August release - Sureblood. Got it from NetGalley. You should request it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Leslie, I've had a mini-whirlwind going on lately. :)

    I really loved the characters and romance in Moonstruck, Leslie. That was a wonderful read.
    I just read Sureblood, lol! (Great minds and all that...) It's set in the same world as Moonstruck.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Okay, now I need to unearth my copy of Moonstruck :) Thanks for the mini, Hils! I'm starting to slump :(

    I actually liked Dev and Katya :) Is it Katya? or Ekaterina? Hmmm. but yeah, I'm waiting for a wowzer now :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Nath!

    Ohhh, definitely read Moonstruck! I'm sorry it took me so long to write my Mini on that book. I hope you like it. :)

    RE: Name. It's actually both Ekaterina and Katya. She changes her name and prefers to be called Katya in the book even though her real name is Ekaterina.

    I know what you mean about waiting for a wowzer. I've read a few great ones lately and now I want the same rush. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy belated to your brother and mum!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks ames! They (and we) had a heck of a time celebrating. :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree WRT Blaze of Memory. Dev & Katya just didn't work for me. I kept waiting for Dev to discover he had changeling ancestry, what with his possessive actions. Did love the world-building though :)

    And I have to read the PsyCop series. Not sure why it's not on FW though! Very annoying!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Orannia... I'm glad I wasn't the only one! I also kept wondering when Dev's changeling ancestry was going to be disclosed. That bit kept pulling me out of the story... I didn't quite like him and Katya was just hmm... forgettable. They didn't work for me as a couple. I also LOVED the worldbuilding which is why this got a B for me. I think the Forgotten are just fascinating.

    The PsyCop series in on my wishlist. These little stories were cute and piqued my interest, but didn't really give me much to go on.

    ReplyDelete

Anonymous Users disallowed due to large influx of spam.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.