Rivers of London Vol. 10: Deadly Ever After (2022) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Celeste Bronfman, Joseph Maria Beroy Honestly, I dislike almost everything about this. I don’t like Chelsea and Olympia. I really REALLY don’t like the art. I mean, what the hell kind of wetsuit would do THAT? The thrown in bits with the […]
Wolf Gone Wild (2020) Juliette Cross (Stay a Spell) Mateo Cruz has been cursed. He doesn’t know by whom, and he doesn’t know why, but he hasn’t been able to shift for months and his wolf is almost impossible to control and won’t cease his randy and bloodthirsty thoughts. Evie Savoie helps her sisters run […]
Homicide in Hardcover (2009) Kate Carlisle (Bibliophile Mystery) A mystery about books! Sounds like JUST my thing! It was not my thing. I ended up rage reading to finish it. Brooklyn is the child of hippies and a book restorer who is good enough to have set up her own independent business. She has been […]
A Lady’s Formula for Love (2021) Elizabeth Everett (The Secret Scientists of London) Set in London in 1842. Now that Lady Violet is a widow, she can do all the chemistry experiments she wants AND she can fund a Lady’s Society that is really a secret laboratory where women and be scientists. But after her […]
Heartless (2011) Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate) Set in Alternate London in 1874 OK. Fine. Whatever. I finished it. Alexia is about to have her baby any minute now, and the vampires are still trying to kill her. So the solution everyone comes up with: the baby with be adopted by Lord Akeldama. And Alexia and […]
Changing Colors (2018) Elyse Springer (Seasons of Love Book) I got 43% done and decided I just couldn’t finish it. 43% and then I just read the final two chapters. Which was just a little further than I got on the previous book in this series, Heat Wave, that I also DNFed. Which is bizarre, […]
The Art of Theft (2019) Sherry Thomas Charlotte Holmes has been taking a break from consulting after her last case. But when Mrs. Watson’s old friend asks for help, Charlotte, Livia, and everyone else is drawn into a heist. I’ve had a request for this from the library since it came out, so when it […]
His Convenient Husband (2017) Robin Covington Isaiah Blackwell is a professional football player, out gay man, and widower trying to raise a teenage son. Victor Aleksandrov is a professional ballerina and an out-spoken gay rights activist from Russia. When Victor’s asylum case is denied, Isaiah offers to marry him so he can remain in the […]
Criminal Past (2018) Gregory Ashe What. The hell? The previous books needed an editor to a level that was annoying, but not insurmountable. This book? Holy shit–it was all over the place, and none of it was good. First and foremost in the bad: Out of nowhere, we suddenly have chapters–as in more than one–of […]
Recipe For Treason (2014) Andrea Penrose Set in ~1814 The first two books in this series were fine. This one, however, irritated me. Let’s start with first thing to drive me to a snarky comment, 5% into the story. The coachman had been knocked unconscious by a rock during the initial attack. But with his […]
The Curse of Lord Stanstead (2015) Mia Marlowe Set in London in 1819. With his pretenatural ability to influence the thoughts of others, Garrett Sterling is sent to gather Cassandra for the Order of the M.U.SE. He’s entirely unprepared for his immediate attraction to the comely little firestarter. But it’s an attraction that he must […]
A Code of Love (2014) Jacki Delecki Set in 1802 in London. I only spent 99 cents on this, but I still feel cheated. I speed read through the final quarter of the book, but I still feel cheated. This book was ridiculous, not in a fun over the-top-way, but in an holy cats this […]
An Indecent Invitation () Laura Trentham Lily Drummond’s father is missing. Her brother returned from the war damaged, and she is navigating her first season. Gray Masterson is a spy for the crown. His childhood best friend is a broken man, and in an attempt to draw him out, the wagered on a saber duel, […]
A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis (2012) Jillian Stone Set in England and Scotland in 1887. There were so very many things wrong with this story, I can’t even list them all. But I’m going to try my damnedest to give you a sound accounting. Fanny Greyville-Nugent’s father has died in a horrible industrial accident. […]
Silent Revenge (2012) Laura Landon Set in an indeterminate past in London. Simon Westland, Earl of Northcote has returned from India, his past still vivid in the minds of the ton. Even worse, he is about to lose everything, due to his father throwing away everything on gambling. Lady Jessica Stanton is about to become […]
Six Impossible Things (2017) Elizabeth Boyle I get a LOT of sale books for the kindle, so in self-preservation I’m learning to give up on books I’m not enjoying. This was one of those books I should have loved, since it’s a mystery AND romance. “Girls cannot join the Foreign Office.” “No, Roselie, girls are […]
A Lady in the Smoke (2016) Karen Odden Set in England in 1874. I actually got 80% through this book, but I was tired and wanted to go to sleep, so I skipped to the end, and then had no desire to go back and discover the details of what actually happened. Which was kinda […]
Lost to a Spy (2018) Sharon Cullen Set in Scotland in 1567 I picked this up when I saw it on sale because I thought the premise was interesting. Ladies in waiting can’t help noticing more than they let on. After so many years at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, Emma Howard sees […]
The Cryptographer (2015) Alice Wallis-Eton Set in England in 1813. Irritating is, I believe, the best description for this story. There were parts of it I really liked (which is why I finished it) but greater parts were annoying and unnecessary. Aster Tanner is a young woman making her living in a world that makes […]
Kitty in the Underworld (2013) Carrie Vaughn I still don’t like this story. Rick is gone and Angelo is acting Master of Denver. Roman has taken out one of the master vampires who was on their side, and everyone is worried that war is coming. Meanwhile, Kitty gets kidnapped by a group led by an […]
Jinn and Juice (2014) Nicole Peeler I absolutely adored the Jane True series, and so I eagerly ordered this book. Then I got it, started it, and then put it right back down. It just didn’t grab me the way the Jane True series did. But recently I decided that I was going to give […]
Owl and the Japanese Circus (2015) Kristi Charish This wasn’t a throw-across-the-room bad book, but also wasn’t good. Owl is a former archaeology grad student who was manipulated and forced out of her program. She is also selfish and irritating and self-absorbed. Her only good quality is her cat, who senses and attacks vampires, but […]
Gunmetal Magic Audible edition (2012) by Ilona Andrews and narrated by Renée Raudman It’s quite possible that we have become spoiled by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who narrates Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series, but neither of us could really get into the audio version of Gunmetal Magic. The narrator wasn’t horrible or anything, but I didn’t […]
Moon Called: Audible Version (2006/2009) Patricia Briggs and read by Lorelei King After finishing Moon Over Soho, I needed something new to listen to, and since I seemed to be in the mood for supernatural fantasy, I decided to start Patricia Brigg’s Moon Called, especially since I was reading and enjoying her collection of short […]
Local (2008) Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly There is absolutely nothing wrong with this story, it just is not my thing. Published by Oni Press
Hounds of Autumn (2013) Heather Blackwood I really wanted to love this. The cover is gorgeous, and the premise is fabulous–a young female inventor in an alternate London, living her life within society’s constraints. The problem in this case is the steampunk. I think there should be a corollary to Clarke’s Law, “Any sufficiently advanced […]
Disenchanted & Co., Part 2: His Lordship Possessed (2013) Lynn Viehl Again, gorgeous cover, and I love the world building, but the story? Bletch. She now moons over Lord Dredmore, who has, at least according to Kit, zero redeeming qualities. Kit also seems to get dumber as the book goes on. Even though her friends […]
The Affinity Bridge (2009) George Mann It’s difficult to find words to describe precisely how terrible this book is. But I’m going to try. Newbury and Hobbes are crown investigators working for Queen Victoria–who is still quite alive, even though it late 1901–looking into cases that are important to the monarchy and government. Newbury apparently […]
Kicking It (2013) edited by Faith Hunter and Kalayna Price “Forked Tongues” by Rachel Caine “Stolen Goods” by Shannon K. Butcher “The Girl with No Name” by Chris Marie Green “The Devil’s Left Boot” by Faith Hunter “High Stakes” by Chloe Neill “The Parlor” by Lucienne Diver “Red Really Isn’t My Color” by Christina Henry […]
When the Devil Holds the Candle (1998/2004) Karin Fossum translated by Felicity David I just did NOT like this book. I ended up skimming, to find out what happened so I could move it. The story jumps back and forth in time and from point-of-view, from the woman who is the killer to the victim, […]
Bad Blood (2013) Dana Stabenow So, I was contentedly reading along, noting the parallels between part of this story and Romeo & Juliet, reading, reading, reading, and then I reach the last page. “What? What the hell?” (Looks for another chapter) “What the hell?” Is this the end of the series? I have no clue. […]
The Doctor Wore Petticoats: Women Physicians of the Old West (2006) Chris Enss The stories in this book are very interesting–it’s a look at the women who were the pioneers of medicine in the old West. The problem is that the writing is pretty terrible. Each women is introduced with a somewhat fictionalized tale of […]
Northlanders Vol. 1: Sven The Returned (2008) Brian Wood, Davide Gianfelice Wow. Totally not for me. Not at all. Published by Vertigo
A Fountain Filled with Blood (2003) Julia Spencer-Fleming I don’t know what it was, but this story annoyed the living crap out of me. Not bad enough that I didn’t finish it, but I can’t say I read for detail, and probably glossed over whole pages for the second half of the book. Clare is […]
Deathless (2011) Catherynne M. Valente I should have loved this–I love folklore and so was familiar with Koschei the Deathless, and was eager to read a tale staring him. And the hero of the story is the young Marya Morevna who has seen birds turn into her sister’s husbands, and so expects magical adventures to […]
Dracula in London (2004) edited by P.N. Elrod I give up. After six months I’m about three-quarters of the way through, and haven’t enjoyed one single story I’ve read. I generally like P.N. Elrod’s stories, and I’ve read several other anthologies she has edited, all of which I’ve enjoyed, but these stories? No. Yuck. One […]
Sins & Shadows (2009) Lyn Benedict If this hadn’t been my carry around to read during lunch book, I probably wouldn’t have finished it. But having nothing else to read, I slogged through and finished. But I didn’t like it. Where to begin with what I didn’t like? First and foremost, although there don’t seem […]
Dragon Wytch (2008) Yasmine Galenorn I don’t much like Camille. I don’t like fashion. And I really don’t like characters who think, talk and obsess about sex constantly. Which is pretty much all Camille does. When she’s not having sex, she’s talking about having sex or thinking about having sex. Plus, she’s so fabulous she […]
Dead Lagoon (1994) Michael Dibdbin Aurelio Zen is a Criminalpol police officer who has wrangled his way to Venice in search of a case so he can cover his real pretext for being in Venice–to reopen a missing persons file because the family is offering him large sums of money for closure in the case. […]
Silent in the Grave (2007) Deanna Raybourn To say that Silent in the Grave annoyed me would be a vast understatement. This book had tons of high recommendations, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. First, the heroine, who is supposed to be intelligent, tends towards sheer idiocy. Sure, she’s well […]
Wraith (2007) Phaedra Weldon My initial review was going to be that I foubd Wraith to be pretty much meh. The I read the last twenty or so pages, during which it sprinted from meh to boo. What bugged me? Where to start? First and foremost, I didn’t understand why the cop liked Zoe so […]
Rising Stars: Voices of the Dead / Bright (2006) Fiona Avery This was definitely a disappointment. First of all, it didn’t say on the front cover that this was not written by J. Michael Stracznski. So I was expecting a certain type of writing and story, and didn’t get it. That probably didn’t help matters. […]
More on books I’ve started to read, and just couldn’t get into. Typically, if I abandon a book, it’s within the first fifty or so pages. Again, feel free to tell me if I should continue on, because the book gets better. There are several books that I’ve had a hard time getting into, but […]
I came across a comment in passing that gave me pause to consider what I’ve been writing here. Specifically, I don’t review a lot of books I don’t like. There’s a very good reason for this–I usally don’t read books I don’t like. When I pick up a book I don’t care for I tend […]
Silver’s Edge (2004) Anne Kelleher This book really pissed me off. And the stupid thing is that there was a simple solution that would have made everything okay. That solution? MARK SOMEWHERE ON THE DAMNED BOOK THAT IT IS PART OF A TRILOGY. Up until the last twenty or so pages I loved this book. […]