brief book reviews
Apr. 8th, 2007 04:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
violaceaRead two books this weekend ...
Dangerous Games, by Keri Arthur. This series just goes to show how a writer's voice really makes the story. Riley could be approaching that dreaded place where a heroine begins to get really annoying, because every man loves her and she keeps acquiring more and more strange powers. But, somehow, I'm still completely into this series. A lot of the credit goes to the easy narration, first-person in Riley's voice. The thing that separates Riley from, say, Anita Blake is that she doesn't apologize for who she is and what she wants. She doesn't angst overly much about the path she's going down - she occasionally reminds us that she doesn't want the life of a guardian, not really, but she knows that her own curiosity and sense of justice is pushing her down that road just as much as anyone external, so she doesn't mope about it. She also makes good decisions, in the end - the end of this book made me want to cheer for her, because I was really afraid she was going to go down a different path. I think Riley continues to be a really fun heroine, and I can't wait to read the next book!
Happy Hour At Casa Dracula, by Marta Acosta. This was a complete fluff read, much in the same vein as MaryJanice Davidson's books. Slightly ditzy and self-centered twentysomething gets sucked into the world of vampires, hilarity ensues. I enjoyed it, and will read the sequel that's sitting on my shelf, but I can definitely see Milagro, her heroine, getting really annoying in the way that MJD's Betsy has gotten the longer that series goes on. For me, there's only so long I can read plots that revolve around a secret that the main character doesn't get because she's too focused on her own misery and problems. But, as a one-off, this book is entertaining. Think beach read.
Dangerous Games, by Keri Arthur. This series just goes to show how a writer's voice really makes the story. Riley could be approaching that dreaded place where a heroine begins to get really annoying, because every man loves her and she keeps acquiring more and more strange powers. But, somehow, I'm still completely into this series. A lot of the credit goes to the easy narration, first-person in Riley's voice. The thing that separates Riley from, say, Anita Blake is that she doesn't apologize for who she is and what she wants. She doesn't angst overly much about the path she's going down - she occasionally reminds us that she doesn't want the life of a guardian, not really, but she knows that her own curiosity and sense of justice is pushing her down that road just as much as anyone external, so she doesn't mope about it. She also makes good decisions, in the end - the end of this book made me want to cheer for her, because I was really afraid she was going to go down a different path. I think Riley continues to be a really fun heroine, and I can't wait to read the next book!
Happy Hour At Casa Dracula, by Marta Acosta. This was a complete fluff read, much in the same vein as MaryJanice Davidson's books. Slightly ditzy and self-centered twentysomething gets sucked into the world of vampires, hilarity ensues. I enjoyed it, and will read the sequel that's sitting on my shelf, but I can definitely see Milagro, her heroine, getting really annoying in the way that MJD's Betsy has gotten the longer that series goes on. For me, there's only so long I can read plots that revolve around a secret that the main character doesn't get because she's too focused on her own misery and problems. But, as a one-off, this book is entertaining. Think beach read.
