What Else I Read In February

Historical Romance:

In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster and The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae by Stephanie Laurens - I read the first book in this series and have had these two on my TBR shelf for quite a while.  Both are fun reads although the premise is a little unbelievable.  But it is fiction so it does not have to be believable.

Romance:

The Cowboy Takes a Bride by Lori Wilde:  The story is an old theme.  Mariah Callahn has lost job and has no place to go when she inheres a rundown ranch for her estranged father.  She heads to Texas and meets her neighbor Joe Daniels.  Both are trust issues and fight their attraction.  It is a nice story.  Nothing to rave about but if you like cowboy romances this is a good one.
Warrior's Bride By Nina Bruhns:  This is another one with trust issues.  She will not promise not to leave until he says he loves her and he will not tell her he loves her until she promises not to leave.  I got this one free from Kindle.  It is a cut quick read.



Science Fiction: 


The Road of Danger by David Drake:  Daniel Leary and his friend Adele Mundy are the main characters in one of my favorite Science Fiction Series.  In their latest adventure they are sent on a fool’s journey but of course it turns out to be anything but.  This one is written from both Daniel and Adele’s point of view.  For most of the book they are working on the same mission in separate locations.  There is a lot of back story dropped into the book.  Even so I suggest that you start this series from book one.   

Waiting on Wednesday (WOW) February 29, 2012

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Timeless comes out in March and is the last in the series.  I will miss the series when it is over.

Timeless (The Parasol Protectorate, No 5) by Gail Carriger


Here is what Goodreads says:


Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

Teaser Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My Teaser today if from Hammered (Book Three in the Iron Druid Chronicles)  by Kevin Hearne.  I just finished Hexed last week and started Hammered today. 

"It was the fertility god Freyr, riding on the back of Gullinbursti, and behind him came Thor in his chariot, pulled by two goats."

"I waited until they were almost out of sight before moving again."

Musing Monday's February 27, 2012

Musing Mondays is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
.
This week’s musing asks…

• Do you read books that are part of a series?
• Do you collect all the books in the series before starting? What if the series is brand new, and the only book that’s been published so far is Book one? As subsequent books in the series are published, do you go back and re-read the preceding books?

I do read books in a series.  I try to always start with book one whether it is a new series or one that already has several books published.   Most of the time I don't need to go back to reread previous books when a new one comes out.  I do buy and keep the previous books and in some cases I reread the series while waiting for the next book.

I have started series that I do not continue.  My post today about the Temeraire series says a little about that.  (That post was scheduled long before this question)  If I do not see any movement in the series I drop it.  I have started several that were promising only to quit after several books because the stories were not working toward a solution to the problem in the first book.  For me the best series solve one problem and go on the another as the books progress.

Crucible of Gold (A Novel of Temeraire) by Naomi Novik

Alternate History

Book 7, Crucible of Gold, brings Captain Will Laurence and his dragon Temeraire back into action against Napoleon.  Will is reinstated and sent to South America to bring the Portuguese into the British fold.  But as often happens they don’t even meet the Portuguese until the last part of the book.  Naomi takes the history of the Inca’s with Europeans and gives it the twist that having dragons would bring.  Because of that twist Will and Temeraire are put between the French and the Inca’s with unexpected results.

For me parts of the book really did drag but then it would pick up and my interest level would increase.  This happened throughout the book.  While each event is important to the continuing history the story does not seem to be moving to any conclusion.  I do know where Will and Temeraire are heading in the next book.  Like this book there will be exciting action and new players in the story.  What I am hoping for is more movement in the direction of defeating Napoleon.

I would not read this as a stand-alone but if you have read any of the first books you could pick this up and not be lost.  I have book 6 in my TBR pile and wondered if I needed to go back and read it first.  I did not feel like I missed anything by not reading it and do not feel like going back to read it now.  It looks like it was just a placeholder in the series.

Del Rey published Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik in 2012.

In My Mailbox, February 26, 2012

In My Mail Box is hosted by The Story Siren and is an opportunity to share the books I get each week. 

I have four books in my maibox this week.  
ARC's From Amazon Vine:
The Road of Danger  by David Drake 
The Cowboy Takes a Bride by Lori Wilde
eBook From Pauline Baird Jones:  Kicking Ashe by Pauline Baird Jones
eARC From NetGalley:  The Wolf Who Loved Me by Lydia Dare
 

Stellarnet Rebel by J.L. Hilton

Science Fiction Romance/Space Opera

Stellarnet Rebel highlights what a blogger can accomplish when she takes on injustice.  Genevieve O’Riordan comes to Asteria Colony space station to highlight living conditions on the station.  All of that changes when she meets Duin.  Duin wants help for his people.  Their villages are being destroyed, their water stolen, and they are being put into slavery.  Duin comes to the market every day to tell his story and ask for help.  Genevieve changes the focus of her blog and tells Duin’s story.  It is a story Earth government does not want to here but change comes whether they want it or not.  It is a SFR so along the way she falls in love. 

I was immediately drawn into the story.  The characters were well developed, the action consistent, and the plot very well thought out.  The romance is blended into the story and fits the plot.  This is the first in a series so there were loose ends when the story ended.  I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I really loved the way the space station was built.  Genevieve traveled to Asteria in her living quarters called cubes.  She barley had room to move around because cubes were not only living quarters when they arrived they were freight containers during transport.  Once they arrived they were attached to the station and hooked up to stations systems. Arriving with your living quarters solves the space problem.

Carina Press published Stellarnet Rebel by J.L. Hilton in 2011.

Stellarnet Rebel was in my NetGalley stack but I forgot it was there and I purchased the story from Barnes and Nobel.

Book Beginnings on Friday February 24, 2012

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Katy from A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.





I am reading an ARC of David Drake's The Road of Danger (Science Fiction/Space Opera).  Here is the opening paragraph:

"Captain Daniel Leary whistled cheerfully as he and Adele Munday turned form Dock Street onto Harbor Esplanade, walking for the Princess Cecile's berth toward the three-story pile of Macotta Regional headquarters.  Daniel had every right to be cheerful; he and his crew had brought the Sissie from Zenobia to Cinnabar in seventeen standard days, a run which would have stretched a dedicated courier vessel.  They had then - with the necessary orders and authorizations - made the run from Cinnabar to Kronstadt in eleven more days."

Here is what Goodreads has to say about The Road of Danger:

#9 in the national best selling RCN space adventure series. 

Captain Daniel Leary with his friend–and spy–Officer Adele Mundy are sent to a quiet sector to carry out an easy task: helping the local admiral put down a coup before it takes place. But then the jealous admiral gets rid of them by sending them off on a wild goose chase to a sector where commerce is king and business is carried out by extortion and gunfights. 

With anarchy and rebellion in the air, a rogue intelligence officer plots the war that will destroy civilization and enlists the help of a brute whom even torturers couldn't stomach.  

And, of course, it’s up to Leary and Mundy to put a stop to the madness.

Degrees of Freedom by Simon Morden

Science Fiction

Today is a glad and a sad day.  I finished listening to Degrees of Freedom and I am glad to find out what happened but I am sad because there will be no more Samuil Petrovitch for a while.  I checked all three audio books out from the library so I can’t go back and listen any time I want just to get a Petrovitch fix.  I guess I will have to go buy the books.  That will have to last me until the next book comes out and that will be quite awhile.

If you are a fan of Science Fiction I highly recommend the Metrozone series.  Samuil Petrovitch is an unlikely hero.  My reaction to him reminds me of my reaction to Lisbeth Salander in Girl With a Dragon Tattoo.  Sometimes neither of them is very likeable but I could not help but pull for both.

In Degrees of Freedom almost a year has passed since the last book.  Sam still is not with Mattie, Sonia still wants him, Michael is still buried under the Oshicora tower, the CIA is causing trouble, and The New Machine Jihad is around again.  To add to all of that what appears to be an Armageddonists bomb has been found.   Sam is about to have a very busy two days.  Just tons of fun for the listener.

Recorded Books produced Degrees of Freedom in 2011.

Toby Leonard Moore narrated all three books and he was very, very good.

Waiting on Wednesday (WOW) February 22, 2012

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're 

eagerly anticipating.

I love this new series by Thea Harrision and I am waiting for the next book in the series.  Oracle's Moon is due out in March and I have it pre-ordered.

Oracle's Moon (A Novel of the Elder Races) by Thea Harrison

Here is what Goodreads has to say:

As a second daughter, Grace Andreas never had to worry about the intrigues of the Elder Races. But when her sister, Petra, and Petra's husband are both killed, Grace inherits the Power and responsibilities of the Oracle of Louisville, as well as her sister's two young children - neither of which she is prepared for. 

Yet, she is not alone. Khalil, Demonkind and Djinn prince of House Marid - driven by his genuine caring for the children - has decided to make himself a part of the household both as their guardian and as an exasperating counterpoint to Grace's impudence toward the Elder Races. 

But when an attempt is made on Grace's life, she realizes that Khalil is the only one who can protect her - and offer her more than a mortal man... 

Teaser Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My teaser today is from Hexed, book two in The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne.  Hexed is a paranormal adventure.

"No, we'll get ourselves some special arrows," I said.  "I think I know where we can get us some holy ones, some demon-slayin' arrows,"  

page 33

Ghost of a Chance by Simon R Green

Paranormal

Simon R Green writes novels with lots of blood and guts and Ghost of a Chance is no exception.  The book starts. “Everyone knows there are bad places in the world.”  This first Ghost Finders Novel has two institutes that send teams out to handle bad places when they appear.

Our heroes’ work for the Carnacki Institute and are the good guys.  They only work to shut down bad places.  The opposition works for the Crowlely Project.  They really don’t care about protecting humanity; they just want to amass knowledge and power for their own use.

The team from the Carnacki Institute consists of:

JC Chance– He is an over the top very confident, extremely good-looking male who is the leader of the team.

Melody Chamber – Her main concern is with the machines that pinpoint where and what the bad things are.

Happy Jack Palmer – A telepath who is never happy and spends his days popping pills to help keep the voices at bay.

At the end of the book there is a surprising new member.

They are not an “A” team but when a big bad shows up in the London Underground they are all that is available.  A two-man team from the Crowlely Project is tasked with taking JC and his team out and shows up in the underground at the same time. 

This is a set up for a lot of blood and guts, unexpected alliances and a win in the end.

Everything about this is over the top.  I could never see this as a movie but it would make a great comic strip with characters drawn like the Dick Tracy strip of old. I thought it was a fun book to read but not one to take seriously.

This is our Science Fiction Book Club book this month.  I wrote this before the meeting and am adding the thought of the group after we met.

Group thoughts on the book:

There were two thumbs up on the book and 7 thumbs down.  Only two of us liked the book.  Everyone else said they were tempted to put it down unfinished and would have if it had not been a Book Club selection.

ACE published Ghost of a Chance by Simon R. Green in 2010.

In My Mailbox, February 19, 2012

In My Mail Box is hosted by The Story Siren and is an opportunity to share the books I get each week. 
This week I got two audio books (both are Science Fiction) from the Library.
Love in the Time of Fridges by Tim Scott
Chill by Elizabeth Bear
Used from Amazon:
Interstellar Patrol by Christopher Anvil edited by Eric Flint (This is the Science Fiction Book Club book for March)

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Paranormal/Fantasy

Avry of Kazan is a healer.  She can take the pain, wounds and diseases into her body healing the patient.  While they cause her pain she recovers to heal again.  She should be honored but instead she is hunted.  A plague came through the land and healers died if they tried to cure plague victims.  People did not understand why healers refused to cure plague victims.  Instead they decided that healer had spread the plague and most had been killed.   Avry has been hiding and moving for years trying to survive.  When she is finally captured and sentenced to death she is saved by a band of rogues who value her gift instead of wanting to kill her for having.  The catch is that they want her to heal a leader who has the plague, a leader she hates and one she really does not want to die for.

Touch of Power is the first book in the Healer series and while some things are resolved, many are not.  I started reading and had trouble putting Touch of Power down.  I liked most of the characters.  Avry was a strong powerful character.  I liked the supporting characters.  The one I did not like was the lead male, Kerrick.  I never like a man who abuses a woman and in the first part of the book Kerrick was very abusive to Avry.  Avry had tried to escape but I just could not see Kerrick as anything but a man who abused his power and for me he was not a very good hero.    I will still be looking for book two.

Mira published Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder in 2012.

I have paper copy of Touch of Power even though I also had a copy on Net Galley. 

Book Beginnings on Friday, February 17, 2012

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Katy from A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.


The book I am reading is Quinten's Story by KS Augustin.  Quinton's Story is Science Fiction/Space Opera and is by one of my favorite authors.  Here is the beginning.

"The call was waiting for Quinten in the morning, bounced off his carefully constructed piggyback network of commercial feed point, scientific arrays and even - like a tongue childishly stuck out at the Republic - some military outposts.  He might be described by most people as grim but, underneath the scar tissue, Quinten had a sense of humor."