50 in '14: #6 & 7
Mar. 25th, 2014 11:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sakon76Title: Half-Off Ragnarok
Author: Seanan McGuire
Length: 351 pages
The third book in the Incryptid series, this is a solid read in the same style as the first two, though we switch the main character from Verity Price, ballroom dancer, waitress, and urban cryptozoologist, to her older brother Alex Price, herpetologist and cryptoherpetologist. And suddenly remarks Seanan has made here and there about a certain zoo in Ohio make a lot more sense.
This book really does concentrate on a more scientific end of things, but also carries on the storyline of Sarah, who ended the last book in not a very good state. There are also reasons I think that reading Sweet Poison Wine, on the author's Incryptid short stories page, may be a good idea before reading this book. Gorgons appeared in the first two novels... but feature much more heavily here. Though the Aeslin mice have a somewhat scaled back role, alas. (The mice are ALWAYS worth the price of admission.)
Verdict: If you aren't reading these books, why not? Recommended.
Title: The Last Chance Cafe
Author: Linda Lael Miller
Length: 373 pages
A book I've been meaning to pick up for a while, this is a sequel of sorts to The Women of Primrose Creek, but set in the modern day. I understand there's a modern day sequel to the Springwater books (which I liked better) as well, but the sample pages I've read of that didn't appeal, while those of this story did.
It's a high-stakes woman-on-the-run-with-her-two-small-kids story, and I liked the characters, the setup, and the action. I just had a couple niggling issues going, one of which was, if the bad guys were part of the police, and her evil ex was an assistant DA, why didn't they set up an APB and an Amber Alert or something to try to catch her? Too much research? Was the book written before Amber Alerts were a thing?
Other than those niggling little details, though, and my habit of skipping sex scenes in romance novels (honestly, after a while they all blur, because they're all The Best Sex Ever, Earthquakes Included), this was a pretty good read, and I think I enjoyed it more than the original set of novellas. That said, it references them rather heavily, so reading them first might be a good idea.
Verdict: Recommended.
Author: Seanan McGuire
Length: 351 pages
The third book in the Incryptid series, this is a solid read in the same style as the first two, though we switch the main character from Verity Price, ballroom dancer, waitress, and urban cryptozoologist, to her older brother Alex Price, herpetologist and cryptoherpetologist. And suddenly remarks Seanan has made here and there about a certain zoo in Ohio make a lot more sense.
This book really does concentrate on a more scientific end of things, but also carries on the storyline of Sarah, who ended the last book in not a very good state. There are also reasons I think that reading Sweet Poison Wine, on the author's Incryptid short stories page, may be a good idea before reading this book. Gorgons appeared in the first two novels... but feature much more heavily here. Though the Aeslin mice have a somewhat scaled back role, alas. (The mice are ALWAYS worth the price of admission.)
Verdict: If you aren't reading these books, why not? Recommended.
Title: The Last Chance Cafe
Author: Linda Lael Miller
Length: 373 pages
A book I've been meaning to pick up for a while, this is a sequel of sorts to The Women of Primrose Creek, but set in the modern day. I understand there's a modern day sequel to the Springwater books (which I liked better) as well, but the sample pages I've read of that didn't appeal, while those of this story did.
It's a high-stakes woman-on-the-run-with-her-two-small-kids story, and I liked the characters, the setup, and the action. I just had a couple niggling issues going, one of which was, if the bad guys were part of the police, and her evil ex was an assistant DA, why didn't they set up an APB and an Amber Alert or something to try to catch her? Too much research? Was the book written before Amber Alerts were a thing?
Other than those niggling little details, though, and my habit of skipping sex scenes in romance novels (honestly, after a while they all blur, because they're all The Best Sex Ever, Earthquakes Included), this was a pretty good read, and I think I enjoyed it more than the original set of novellas. That said, it references them rather heavily, so reading them first might be a good idea.
Verdict: Recommended.
