To Begin:
Sin and Shadows
by
Lyn Benedict
A-
This is an intriguing blend of Maltese Falcon style noir and paranormal elements, and I was
generally pleased with the brisk plot, interesting characters, and reasonably
surprising ending. I wasn’t totally
prepared for how dark the tone was, and the mis
en scene start caught me a bit flat footed, but once the ground settled I
was drawn in and will certainly pick up the next in the series. Really, the only drawback was a tendency to
whine on the part of the lead. But this
is a complaint that can be leveled at 99.9% of Urban Fantasy. And this flaw was more than accounted for by
the fact that our heroine had all of no superpowers that magically downloaded
while her enemies swarmed her-unless you count being willing and able to kill
things/people. Basically, the possible
demi-god of justice hires/blackmails our lead Sylvie into helping him hunt his
missing lover. Along the way the plot
smacks into the story of Lilith and exile from Eden. All sorts of supernatural creatures pop up
and no one, from Sylvie to any of the extras is wholly good or evil. Which gets a gold star from me. There are some unwelcome Angels in the Outfield
bits, but I enjoy that, like in Supernatural,
they’re dicks.
by
Kristen Callihan
B+
This was such
a random buy, and boy were my expectations low.
It’s a paranormal regency romance.
It has enormous fun with the tropes of both genres and creates a froth
that tastes a bit like syllabub and is just as enjoyable. The characters are engaging, recognizable as
both Regency and Urban archetypes (not a bad thing when done purposefully and
with an agenda) and the plot moves swiftly and maintains interest. A man who’s been cursed with eternal life and
a girl who’s a pyro fall in lurv and are stalked by a crazy cultist. Magic and/or lurv save them. And the heroine is
surprisingly kick ass without seeming ridiculous for regency. Of course, there are a lot of twists that a
careful reader will see coming, but I didn’t really feel too irritated by
them. This isn’t fiction to change your
life, but strangely, I feel that way too many straight up Urban Fantasy writers
should be taking notes on how to craft entertainment without resorting to cheap
sex scenes. Yeah. The romance novel does it right, how weird is
that?
by
Diana Rowland
B
This is an improvement over the first book, make no
mistake. Something is sucking out souls
in our tiny Louisiana township and our resident demon summoner and her FBI pals
are on the case. Which involves rich
dead folk, an increasing amount of weird from her BFF partner, and the looming
threat that her aunt’s comma will become permanent. The meta-narrative is starting to shape up
nicely as well. There seems to be a lot
more going on with her Demonic Lord then just smexy times and snarky small
talk. Or even world domination. I’ll admit
to being intrigued. The plot is still
brisk, the characters deeper and their interactions both believable and
seemingly related to the plot and each other. BUT. We’ve
still got a ways to go on making the mystery believable. The villain is still easily spotted, the
mystery not all that compelling. Hell,
even a few of the set piece ‘dangers’ are pretty familiar. What bothers me most, however, is the weird
sense I get that our lead, Kara, is being punished for being sexually
active. Like it’s naughty. Dunno, maybe that’s all in my head. However, it’s still interesting enough that I
read it fast and wanted to read the next one, so complaints aside, a solid
second entry.
by
Alison Pang
B
Wait, you mean I paid the monies for a sequel to A
Brush of Darkness? After slamming it mercilessly? Well, yes.
And this is one of those rare instances where a crap-tastic first novel
is followed by a pretty darned enjoyable second. So many, many of the problems that I despised
in the first are fixed or absent in this one.
And honestly, I can’t even say to pick up the first in discount or used
bins though, just skip it and jump straight in with this. This time we’ve got another round of AWOL
Moira, but now it’s complicated with ½ angel babies, imposter regents,
the closing of the gates between Faerie and our world, and Abby’s Past with a capitol
P. The snark works, and the dialogue is
snippy, fast and really enjoyable-to the point of actually being funny at
times. Once our heroine gets into
faerie, things get interesting I enjoyed the depiction of the court system and
(maybe intentionally, maybe not) LOL’d lots at the depictions of the demon army
as goth rock skater types. Everyone’s
back story gets deeper, murkier, and stronger, and even the succubus ex isn’t entirely
irritating. And the cliffhanger ending,
while super convoluted and I’m still not 100% on board with it, did leave me
wanting more. Overall, a pleasant
surprise.
by
Christina Henry
B-
On the less pleasant side, the Black Wings novels
seem to be heading in the other direction.
While the first book was interesting and novel, the subsequent ones have
been less and less so. This outing,
Maddie Black is still dealing with her new role as Lucifer’s favourite, and now
ghosts are walking around without an approved and time stamped agent of death
to aid in the transition. And the
werewolf pack she befriended last time is in trouble. The plot moves quickly, but there are few
surprises, including the fact that the two big twist are so obvious that any close reader, or one familiar
with genre tropes will see them coming from miles off. The villains are villainous, mostly just for
the sake of being evil, and the good guys are as often annoying as they are brilliant/resourceful/fun. But what’s most depressing is that this book
could function as a master class on why actual human speech, or even emotional
head space is NOT THE SAME as well written dialogue or exposition. Just because I obsess about stupid shit, or
have the same conversation six times with my roommate before she gets the point
doesn’t mean I want or will enjoy reading that.
Just because it’s real doesn’t mean it’s good. The fine line between real and realistic was
lost here. A lot. To the point that one conversation repeated
every time our heroes did anything. And
isn’t belaboring the point obnoxious? J I may have hit the point where I get the next
one used and see if there’s any improvement.
Sigh.
A note on Grading: on my Scale
A=I might buy the hardback; B=pay trade cover price; C=get it used or from the
bargain bin; D=used if you’re in to self flagellation; F=what, are you stupid?
No comments:
Post a Comment