Amazon Cart: June Anticipate Releases

 

J D Robb Encore In Death Cover Art

 We got a coverrrrrrr for 2/2023 J. D. Robb book. This is an Amazon affiliate link to the book...

Fantasy Bookstore Run...

 

Who is Ready for the New V.I. Warshawski?

Her and I didn't always get along. But I've learned to love her. And she has learned to trust me. Well, you know what I mean. The point is that my pre-order for Sara Paretsky's 22nd V. I. Warshawski novel, Overboard, is in and ready to go. Next Tuesday... well... we already know what it is when our favorites release new books, eh? "On and poppin'" is the right expression for the occassion.

Currently Reading in May...

 

Mercedes Lackey April

I don't know how I managed this (besides jumping right into my coffee and reading after work at 6am each day), but I managed to clean house with three Mercedes Lackey trilogy readings. It began with Tarma and Kethry adventures in Oathbound. This led to Oathbreaker and Oathblood. I've had the first two books on my shelf for over a year and bought Oathblood to round things out. Out of the three trilogies I completed, these ladies made my favorite party to keep company with. The books were fun; nothing deep nor complex. I learned reading Lackey's By the Sword that fantasy complexities and grandness weren't necessarily Lackey's edge. She does have charm. She is a storyteller. But epic? Nah. Especially when she constantly uses rape as a plot device. It almost took me chewing my teeth out not to throw her books when she does it. Nevertheless, Tarma and Kethry had some great adventures.

Ah. The Arrows Trilogy. I read the first book almost three years ago, and have been hesitant since. But I decided after completing Tarma and Kethry's stories I might as well keep the Lackey train going with Arrow's Flight and Arrow's Fall. Incidentally, the one I found most readers dislike the most was the one I liked the most. Can you guess which was that? It was Arrow's Flight, the second book. I won't get into the details as to why it is many readers' least favorite of the trio. The only thing I can attribute to my patience with the book is having read Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series. If you can read those, you can tap into any reservoir of patience to get through a book you intend on getting through (as opposed to those you outright DNF for whatever reason).

The DNF Diaries: Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

Amazon Affiliate Link

Saturday 4/2/2022 9:53am. Just finished the first 50 pages of Anne Bishop's Daughter of the Blood. "Okay" so far. Lots of hell and Satan and demon talk. Though expressed in a seemingly analog way ("demon" to "daemon") and such. Either way, the references of those topics used to surround and build the characters/setting of this book are driving and present. Honestly, I hope there is a broader world to explore than this bleak atmosphere seen in these first 50 pages. It doesn't feel encouraging. Or, at least, I'm not 100% willing to sit in this book's atmosphere for very long. Though a memory point I must make is how a friend of mine bought this book for me ten years ago as a birthday present. She was sure I would love it–just as she had. Here we are ten years later, and I believe I'm running into the same issue I had back then; the atmosphere is slightly putting me off. I will say, having read The Wheel of Time, I think I am a stronger reader and just might be able to glean past my feelings to encounter whatever jewel the book has to offer to keep me invested. So, I'll have to read more to find it.

10:17pm the same day. I’ve decided to DNF the book. It was fairly interesting; a young girl with the power to use crystals to a variety of degrees and how interested "Satan" became in protecting her to protect his kingdom in the intern. Classic stuff about a young girl with untapped powers being the beacon of hope to a dark kingdom–with a prophecy intact. That whole deal and something to that effect. Nevertheless, what threw me off was when a character popped up named Surreal. The book had me going until her chapter came about 65 pages in. She was looking for something, I believe perfume. I instantly was over this character and her role as the comedic relief (so I sensed). And because I am in the cleaning shelves of books in unread mode (with a touch of a book ban until I get many of them down), I decided to let this one go. The gravity to keep reading just wasn’t there. And this Surreal character basically tripped the wire.

That’s how sensitive I am right now. I've got to either read or get rid of books that are been hanging around too long and unread.