Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance #2

[Lyanna Stark]

I couldn't get through the first book, but may have been my mood at the time.

I have to admit I took one look at the covers and went "errh no". Prejudiced perhaps, but they really looked like all the UF stereotypes baked into one big cake of awfulness.

Since I am bingeing on Victorian gaslight steampunk when I can, I somehow managed to stumble over this one, which I am considering giving a go. Moderately ok cover, moderately ok title, seems like at least mostly interesting plot. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

[lady narcissa]

Lyanna, MANY THINGS! But I'm pretty sure I got an arc of that at c2e2 the other weekend. It doesn't come out for another month. I'm out of town on vacation now but will check when I get home and see.

[Lyanna Stark]

Lyanna, MANY THINGS! But I'm pretty sure I got an arc of that at c2e2 the other weekend. It doesn't come out for another month. I'm out of town on vacation now but will check when I get home and see.

:lol:

You are of course 100% correct and I am really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it! And on just how many things have gone wrong with it.

EDIT: On the plus side, there is not a single mention of elves that I can see so this is definitely in its favour.

[AverageGuy]

I have to admit I took one look at the covers and went "errh no". Prejudiced perhaps, but they really looked like all the UF stereotypes baked into one big cake of awfulness.

Funny enough, what bugged me was that every single UF stereotype seemed to be shoved into the first half of the book.

...Except elves, come to think of it.

OTOH, I regularly read UF featuring those stereotypes without their bothering me too much. Which is why I'm not sure if this book really was a bad version of them or if I just wasn't in the mood for UF at the time.

[Darth Richard II]

Oh, we could probably fill a topic up quick with things that can go wrong when you buy things on a whim. Although sometimes thing scan go right. Sometimes you get TLPQ, other times, you get gay gangrape wolf porn.

[Mars447]

Jane Yellowrock would be a better series if 75% of the sex/romance bullshit was cut out. THAT SAID, there's not much of a difference between Jane admiring any of the dudes that come into her orbit and, say, Harry Dresden. The sex/romance bullshit in The Dresden Files also annoys, and I share Harry's orientation. The vampire dynamics, and how that interacts with the muggle world, are actually pretty interesting, the focus on Native American mythologies is pretty neat, and Jane isn't bad herself.

The covers do suck, though, but so does every other UF cover (especially with a female protagonist on it) that isn't done by Christian McGrath.

[Lyanna Stark]

Jane Yellowrock would be a better series if 75% of the sex/romance bullshit was cut out. THAT SAID, there's not much of a difference between Jane admiring any of the dudes that come into her orbit and, say, Harry Dresden. The sex/romance bullshit in The Dresden Files also annoys, and I share Harry's orientation. The vampire dynamics, and how that interacts with the muggle world, are actually pretty interesting, the focus on Native American mythologies is pretty neat, and Jane isn't bad herself.

The covers do suck, though, but so does every other UF cover (especially with a female protagonist on it) that isn't done by Christian McGrath.

Ooooh, the Christian McGrath covers are brilliant. He's done the Kelly Gay ones which are really neat.

Perhaps I should give Jane Yellowrock a try then since I need really easygoing stuff as commuter reading. At 06.30 in the morning, my brain cannot cope with complicated stuff, and the same goes for after a day of Dealing with Despair in public sector IT. I just need to shut off, shut out (the other commuters) and read something that requires very little advanced thinking. As long as it is not too cacky, I can kinda deal with most things unless they're elves.

[Deedles]

I did not get along with Carriger's Soulless very well. I liked the absurdist Victorian steampunk setting it was going for in theory, but it was like it couldn't decide whether or not to go full throttle absurd and kept changing its mind, which left both the writing and the plot / setting feeling like they hovered half-way between fun Victorian romp pastiche on the one hand and substanceless fluff on the other. And, while I'm not at all well-versed in romance stuff, I'd agree those elements didn't feel like they built a relationship that was very complex. A book with great ideas and some funny individual bits, but meh, thoroughly meh. Weirdly, I think Carriger's Finishing School books, which are not only by the same author but are ya set in the same world, are joy.

.

This pretty much captures my thoughts. I started mildly disliking the book and finished disliking it. I thought the physical demonstration of romance particularly badly handled. I also found the prose somewhat clunky. A couple of phrases were repeated in very short succession. In possibly just the kinfdle edition someone was being driven "balmy". I don't think Alexia had a good word to say about any female, not Ivy, her family, the super naturals or even the last character introduced, who had a smutty joke made about her while later shown as a prude. Biffy doing hair was way out of the era also. Also, the levels of intelligence demonstrated was inconsistent. So Lord maccon posted the loners to an area, but then completely neglects them? Seems odd to me.

I liked the attempt to mash the genres together and it was nearly successful. I thought the absurdist humour was pretty good also.

[Mars447]

The Grimm Agency series by JC Nelson is batshit insane in an awesome way but jesus christ does the universe need to give the protagonist a break.

[Lyanna Stark]

Got myself something of an oddity. A ghost story/mystery/romance set in 19th century Malacca featuring a girl of Chinese heritage called "The Ghost Bride" by Yangsze Choo. So far it is really good with surprisingly lovely writing and a language that really manages to get across Malacca as a both something everyday to its denizens but something that may be exotic to the reader (and therefor well explained). Very much focused on the city as the place of action and interesting with a different culture's take on spirits, ghosts, love and death. Oh and the food. And the clothing. OMG I got so hungry when I read it late at night I had to go make myself an egg sandwich.

Nearly 50% through now and it's really a good read so far.

[mashiara]

Got myself something of an oddity. A ghost story/mystery/romance set in 19th century Malacca featuring a girl of Chinese heritage called "The Ghost Bride" by Yangsze Choo. So far it is really good with surprisingly lovely writing and a language that really manages to get across Malacca as a both something everyday to its denizens but something that may be exotic to the reader (and therefor well explained). Very much focused on the city as the place of action and interesting with a different culture's take on spirits, ghosts, love and death. Oh and the food. And the clothing. OMG I got so hungry when I read it late at night I had to go make myself an egg sandwich.

Nearly 50% through now and it's really a good read so far.

Really? I read it last week and it fell short for me. I started getting really bored someplace around halfway through and I stopped caring about the main character and just started wishing that the book was over.

[peterbound]

Finishing up Tad Williams urban foray. Too bad these didn't sell better. I really like them, and the world he created within.

[Puntificator]

I just finished P.N. Elrod's new novel, The Hanged Man, which is set in an ahistorical version of Victorian London, and two new Kindle short stories by Elliott James set in the "Pax Arcana" urban fantasy universe: Bulls Rush In and Talking Dirty. I enjoyed all three immensely.

[Puntificator]

Got myself something of an oddity. A ghost story/mystery/romance set in 19th century Malacca featuring a girl of Chinese heritage called "The Ghost Bride" by Yangsze Choo. So far it is really good with surprisingly lovely writing and a language that really manages to get across Malacca as a both something everyday to its denizens but something that may be exotic to the reader (and therefor well explained). Very much focused on the city as the place of action and interesting with a different culture's take on spirits, ghosts, love and death. Oh and the food. And the clothing. OMG I got so hungry when I read it late at night I had to go make myself an egg sandwich.

Nearly 50% through now and it's really a good read so far.

I read it and found it to be a relatively unique oddity that was surprisingly (to me) good; very good, in fact.

[lady narcissa]

Lyanna, Just to confirm, now that I am back home I checked my shelves and I do have an arc of The Shadow Revolution: Crown & Key. I shall let you know what I think when I get to it.

Which might be a few weeks as I do have Uprooted sitting here waiting to be read. Except I’m reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas for the third time. I am so torn about this book. Maas is a pretty well selling YA Fantasy author for her Throne of Glass series. I read the first book but had some major issues with it so haven’t read the rest. But the Thorns and Roses book is a new series and intrigued me so I picked it up.

It is not a YA novel, it’s being marketed as New Adult but really it really is Fantasy Romance. The first time I read it, I started off reading, got bored about a third through and skimmed straight through the rest, got to the end and was like…I think I need to go back. So then I read the last third. Now I’ve gone back to the beginning and am reading straight through and it’s kind of driving me batty as I alternate between giving it 2 stars and 4 stars. The writing quality isn’t great and there are double verb issues and predictability but on the other hand I can’t stop thinking about it and I’m reading it for the third time so there is some crack like quality to it.

What is it about? Well you’ve got your 18 year old heroine who is Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. You’ve got your 500+ year old fae hero who looks like Lee Pace in the Hobbit. The first two thirds of the story is sort of straight up Disney version of Beauty and the Beast with a curse and fae. The last third of the book is sort of the Hunger Games / Tam Lin mashup. There are some elements of Cinderella as well. It’s sort of a mess but I like the assortment of characters and the potential of where things seem to be heading. Really, I just need another adult to read this book so I can talk about it with someone.

[Lyanna Stark]

Re Ghost Bride: While I felt the last third or so could have been wrapped up earlier, I really liked that the ending was so bittersweet and that it wasn't just a simple ending, but a surprisingly grown up one, in that once you change you can't go back. That said, I am not really a romantic so it made me a bit peeved, although I could understand the reasoning perfectly.

Also SPOILER not for the faint of heart

As Er Lang is a dragon, does that make Li Lan some sort of proto-furry? :P

Really loved the setting and the culture tho. It was very different and immersive and a nice counterpoint to anglosaxon centric ghost stories. The Chinese religious beliefs, the cultural beliefs and that breaking point in time where women had more hopes of being independent but weren't yet so made it feel quite unique. I thought it shared some thought material with other UFs set in Victorian London as it often features women who struggle to find some footing and maybe freedom in a world that is changing, but hasn't changed fast enough to accommodate their wishes.

Lyanna, Just to confirm, now that I am back home I checked my shelves and I do have an arc of The Shadow Revolution: Crown & Key. I shall let you know what I think when I get to it.

Awesum. It looks neat but you never know.

Which might be a few weeks as I do have Uprooted sitting here waiting to be read. Except I’m reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas for the third time. I am so torn about this book. Maas is a pretty well selling YA Fantasy author for her Throne of Glass series. I read the first book but had some major issues with it so haven’t read the rest. But the Thorns and Roses book is a new series and intrigued me so I picked it up.

It is not a YA novel, it’s being marketed as New Adult but really it really is Fantasy Romance. The first time I read it, I started off reading, got bored about a third through and skimmed straight through the rest, got to the end and was like…I think I need to go back. So then I read the last third. Now I’ve gone back to the beginning and am reading straight through and it’s kind of driving me batty as I alternate between giving it 2 stars and 4 stars. The writing quality isn’t great and there are double verb issues and predictability but on the other hand I can’t stop thinking about it and I’m reading it for the third time so there is some crack like quality to it.

What is it about? Well you’ve got your 18 year old heroine who is Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. You’ve got your 500+ year old fae hero who looks like Lee Pace in the Hobbit. The first two thirds of the story is sort of straight up Disney version of Beauty and the Beast with a curse and fae. The last third of the book is sort of the Hunger Games / Tam Lin mashup. There are some elements of Cinderella as well. It’s sort of a mess but I like the assortment of characters and the potential of where things seem to be heading. Really, I just need another adult to read this book so I can talk about it with someone.

OoohOOoooooh, I am your man elf woman. Thranduil is one of the two elves in any medium I am actually pretty crazy about. The second one being the stone cold revolutionary murderous bastard Iorveth from Witcher (I spend most of my game time trying to find him to moon over him and the best part is that he's either snarky or pissed off most of the time, haha).

EDIT: This still doesn't change that I am generally really against elves btw. Just to set you all at ease :P And good God, I need to boot up the Witcher now and go find Iorveth.

[lady narcissa]

OoohOOoooooh, I am your man elf woman.

Hooray! And if you read it and think I am just completely nuts you can arrange for an intervention for me.

Thranduil is one of the two elves in any medium I am actually pretty crazy about. The second one being the stone cold revolutionary murderous bastard Iorveth from Witcher (I spend most of my game time trying to find him to moon over him and the best part is that he's either snarky or pissed off most of the time, haha).

EDIT: This still doesn't change that I am generally really against elves btw. Just to set you all at ease :P And good God, I need to boot up the Witcher now and go find Iorveth.

Ha ha, I think I should warn you…I watched an interview with Maas last night on you tube and she talked a bit about the book and apparently she was obsessed with LOTR and elves in high school and had a Legolas life sized cut out in her room and originally wanted to include elves in this book but felt they were a bit overdone currently so went with fairies instead. However, she originally wrote the book in 2009 so it’s not clear if the story was originally written as elves and only now got switched to fairies or if even then she felt the need to get away from elves and wrote it as fairies from the beginning. So basically…if you don’t like this book I am totally blaming ELVES for being at the root of it.

I’m not familiar with Witcher or Iorveth but stone cold revolutionary murderous bastards are always enjoyable in fictional stories/worlds. If you like that sort I suspect there is another character in ACOTAR that you might find intriguing.

[Spaßvogel]

Anyone read Stephen Blackmoore's Eric Carter series? I'm digging the Los Angeles setting a lot, and also the Necromancy angle. I think the third book is out June 2nd. (along with the new Expanse book and the new Drood book).

[AncalagonTheBlack]

Anyone read Stephen Blackmoore's Eric Carter series? I'm digging the Los Angeles setting a lot, and also the Necromancy angle. I think the third book is out June 2nd. (along with the new Expanse book and the new Drood book).

I've read both and enjoyed them,they're page-turning quick reads.

Unfortunately,the 3rd book has been pushed back to Spring 2016 - http://stephenblackmoore.com/2015/05/14/in-case-you-pre-ordered-hungry-ghosts/

[emberling]

Which might be a few weeks as I do have Uprooted sitting here waiting to be read. Except I’m reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas for the third time. I am so torn about this book. Maas is a pretty well selling YA Fantasy author for her Throne of Glass series. I read the first book but had some major issues with it so haven’t read the rest. But the Thorns and Roses book is a new series and intrigued me so I picked it up.

Your reaction to Court is very similar to my reaction to Uprooted! Like, there are a lot of places where I thought it broke down? But I do not care about any of that it is fucking fantastic.

characteristically for me though, I have already forgotten almost everything about both books. thought court was great fun, i.e. to my taste/mood, but not particularly good in any way I noticed. elfiness levels are standard high sidhe, comparable to toby, kalamack, roiben rye in tithe etc. for context, throne of glass is one of my favorite YA fantasies, and I like YA fantasy a lot. court is several notches down from that as far as my tastes go, but I don't feel like I can attempt a judgment of whether other people would like either. I get into a book that's got a main character who pushes my buttons (cliches, often) and on first sight of a flaw I go into this reading mode where all the flaws go invisible. and to me, for what I want to see in books I read, heterosexuality counts as a flaw. so.