ants Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 On 8/10/2017 at 5:44 AM, Deedles said: Anyone else been reading the Hidden Legacy novels by Ilana Andrews? Cracking good fun. Totally goes for it magic wise (don't think too hard), and the characters develop!!! From creepy kidnapping, to actually speaking about what is upsetting them. Now, the stereotypes are strong, and while I liked the focus on family, Nevada really, really needs a female friend. I've got to admit that I'm not a huge fan. I love her Kate Daniels books, but thought these had some of the worst of the bad romance/misogynistic stereotypes there are. The main male character is utterly contemptible. He is part of a society that that forces the general population to be subservient, has little regard for ethics and literally begins the relationship with the female protagonist by kidnapping and torturing her because she might have some useful information. And some of the ways he tries to control her life are terrible. Its like she took all of Curran's worst characteristics, removed the context and justifications for them, made them significantly worse, condensed the romance into a single book, and somehow thought that was a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaßvogel Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Read the Bobby Dollar series by Tad Williams. I became less interested in the meta plot as the series went on, but I still enjoyed the series enough to finish it fairly quickly. My only big beef is that the prose tends to get a little thick at times. Which leads me to the next Tad Williams series I read: Otherland. Not really Urban Fantasy (though this series certainly dabbles), but 3000 ish words spread over 4 books was really dense jungle to hack through. (no metaphor mixing pun intended). Currently reading Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich and it's the perfect antidote to all that Tad Williams prose. (And it is definitely Urban Fantasy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.T. Phipps Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Just started the Hellequin Chronicles by Stephen McHugh which is enjoyable so far except for the protagonist's tendency to be surrounded by as many beautiful women as Harry Dresden but having none of the man's restraint or ill luck. But it's called fantasy for a reason I suppose. I do like the main character's attitude, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dornishpen Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Any advice on terrible urban fantasy/paranormal romance I should avoid. I mostly read ebooks available from my library and the selection is ok but not great. I recently borrowed a book that was terrible, I couldn’t finish it, it was misogynist, had terrible dialog (bad slang from the 90s maybe), terrible names and was generally not good. It was a black dagger brotherhood book and I’m very happy I didn’t spend money on it, but kind of disappointed in my library for spending money on it. So now I’m hoping to know any other terrible series I should avoid (I know tastes vary). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen of Procrastination Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 On 21.11.2017 at 5:55 AM, Dornite said: Any advice on terrible urban fantasy/paranormal romance I should avoid. I mostly read ebooks available from my library and the selection is ok but not great. I recently borrowed a book that was terrible, I couldn’t finish it, it was misogynist, had terrible dialog (bad slang from the 90s maybe), terrible names and was generally not good. It was a black dagger brotherhood book and I’m very happy I didn’t spend money on it, but kind of disappointed in my library for spending money on it. So now I’m hoping to know any other terrible series I should avoid (I know tastes vary). My deepest condolences. I read the first Black Dagger book many years ago and it was one of the worst books I've read. Couldn't finish it either for pretty much the same reasons. Plus the Main Character was pretty stupid. Other books you should avoid: In my own biased opinion I know people who love all of these The Night Huntress/ Cat and Bones series by Jeaniene Frost. Pretty much for the same reasons you disliked the Black Dagger Brotherhood. The Evermore series by Alison Noel. Only read the first book and it was a complete Twilight ripp-off The House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. The language is extremely bad and it feels very much like a teenage high school "drama". Even those who liked the first book told me that the series gets worse after book 5 or 6 and I barely know anyone who finished it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaßvogel Posted December 9, 2017 Share Posted December 9, 2017 On 11/11/2017 at 8:47 AM, C.T. Phipps said: Just started the Hellequin Chronicles by Stephen McHugh which is enjoyable so far except for the protagonist's tendency to be surrounded by as many beautiful women as Harry Dresden but having none of the man's restraint or ill luck. That aspect gets toned down significantly. I just finished the series. Won't spoil anything, except to say, that I had been assured that the series was complete, but found out that it ends on a cliffhanger that will launch a new series. (Book 1 due in April 2018). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 Like Heelequin a lot. Not deep, but rolls along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.T. Phipps Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 I admit, I'm also going to be annoyed by the fact I just finished the first book and have been told none of the supporting cast return. Which is a shame because they're awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaßvogel Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 17 hours ago, C.T. Phipps said: I admit, I'm also going to be annoyed by the fact I just finished the first book and have been told none of the supporting cast return. Which is a shame because they're awesome. Which characters do you mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 Yep, confusing to me to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.T. Phipps Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 6 hours ago, ants said: Yep, confusing to me to. Well I haven't read the second or any other books but I was told none of the supporting cast of the first book show up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaßvogel Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 On 12/24/2017 at 3:48 AM, C.T. Phipps said: Well I haven't read the second or any other books but I was told none of the supporting cast of the first book show up. I think someone gave you shoddy information. I'm trying to think of someone with major "screen time" in the first book who doesn't show up in the others, and I can't. Granted, they don't all make it until the final book, but they at least show up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andorion Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Just read two books by Lilith Saintcrow - one featuring Dante Valentine and one featuring Jill Kismet. Really liked both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaßvogel Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 Polished off the Rivers of London series, and found them mostly enjoyable. Now I join the throng waiting for the next one. Aaronovitch seems to have ventured off into comic books based on his series and has been apparently neglecting the next novel. Currently plodding through Justin Gustainis' two series. I enjoyed the Occult Crime Unit books a lot, they benefited from the structure of being a police procedural, whereas his other series, the Morris & Chastain Investigations series, were much more hit and miss. Gustainis has a bad habit of dumping dozens of characters on you, all with their own POVs and in a couple of the books the two main characters are barely in it. He also has a tin ear for dialogue and every conversation seems at least 40% longer than it needs to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LugaJetboyGirl Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 On 11/7/2017 at 2:29 AM, ants said: I've got to admit that I'm not a huge fan. I love her Kate Daniels books, but thought these had some of the worst of the bad romance/misogynistic stereotypes there are. The main male character is utterly contemptible. He is part of a society that that forces the general population to be subservient, has little regard for ethics and literally begins the relationship with the female protagonist by kidnapping and torturing her because she might have some useful information. And some of the ways he tries to control her life are terrible. Its like she took all of Curran's worst characteristics, removed the context and justifications for them, made them significantly worse, condensed the romance into a single book, and somehow thought that was a good idea. Yeah, I feel the same way. Of course, I only made it through a few of the Kate Daniels series before I lost interest. I read Burn for Me and had a lot of problems with it, so haven't bothered reading any of the others. @lady narcissa, I too was rather disappointed about the last Anne Bishop book. Partly that's because I thought there needed to be more resolution with the main relationship. I read Slouch Witch (the lazy girl's guide to magic). The main character is a super talented witch who just wants to chill out at her house, watch movies with her cat. She has no ambition beyond her current job, which is driving a cab. But the magical order's Arcane Branch wants her to actually do work for them, despite that she has no interest in actually getting up in the morning. It was cute and funny, and I would recommend it if you are looking for some fluff. I just finished reading TJ Klune’s Wolfsong. I've seen several people online say it is the best werewolf shifter book that they have ever read. It was really awesome. It’s a m/m werewolf romance with some lovely characterization and what I thought was a very sensitively-realized love story. It’s got coming-of-age elements but is also a bit of a second-chance romance, following the characters as they grow up and into their 20s. The main character is human and the love interest is a werewolf, but he’s not an alpha-hole like you see in so much paranormal romance/urban fantasy. The book had an interesting take on the idea of ‘pack’ and how humans fit into the werewolf social hierarchy. The writing had a wonderful cadence and was pretty lyrical, which was another way it was different than most PR/UF - it almost read like oral poetry in some parts. Apparently Klune is working on a sequel (‘Ravensong’) which I am going to buy the shit out of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncalagonTheBlack Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Orbit is re-issuing Mike Carey‘s Felix Castor series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaßvogel Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 Random question: Does anyone know when the next Pax Arcana novel is due? Unless I was looking in the wrong place, his website hasn't been updated since 2014 and he hasn't tweeted since 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 22 hours ago, AncalagonTheBlack said: Orbit is re-issuing Mike Carey‘s Felix Castor series. Really quality series. Been some good books recently. A new cast book, a new grave witch book, a new imp book and relatively recently a hidden library book. All were lots of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 8 hours ago, Spaßvogel said: Random question: Does anyone know when the next Pax Arcana novel is due? Unless I was looking in the wrong place, his website hasn't been updated since 2014 and he hasn't tweeted since 2016. I thought the last one was the final book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaßvogel Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 On 2/5/2018 at 3:18 AM, ants said: I thought the last one was the final book. I certainly didn't get that impression when I'd finished it. Hmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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