White Jenna

I feel bad about marking this as unfinished. I had started reading right before my mess of migraines hit, and when I picked it up afterwards, I couldn't remember anything that had happened in the story.

When it comes right down to it, my interest in this book wasn't high to begin with. I do like the world that was created but I never found the story itself particularly engaging. It was enough to make me want to keep going, but nothing I would rave about or even recommend to someone. When it got to the point where I couldn't remember what happened the last time I had picked up the book, I decided it wasn't the worth the effort of trying to figure it out.

Revisit: Weather Warden Series

The Weather Warden series follows the story of Joanne, a member of an organization that devotes itself to protecting humanity against mother nature. The idea is that nature is more terrible than man realizes and without the Wardens, the Earth would tear itself apart. The Wardens themselves, have the power to control the elements. It's been a while since I've read these books, so we're going to look at them all at once.

I enjoyed this book a lot. The elemental magic was fascinating, and I liked having the mythology of genies thrown in. Joanne, herself, is on the run. And as she races across country in her car, the power of the wind pushing her faster - it's an exciting adventure and highly enjoyable. If I'd know what the future would bring, I would've stopped reading the series right here.

Joanne is a genie, that much I remember from this book... but plot, story line ...? Apparently, it wasn't that memorable? You'd think that fact would be enough to give it a "meh" rating, but I continued on to the next book in the series, so I feel it must have been interesting enough to make me want to keep going. Regardless, I don't think giving this book a rating would be fair since I can't remember anything about it on which to evaluate it.

This book, I remember with a passion, and that's a bad thing. This book managed to completely piss me off and make me drop the series all together.

I was warned, through reading reviews of the later books in the series that Joanne starts to make illogical or out-of-character choices for the sake of the plot and that the character stupidity and plot holes get worse as the series goes on. I had prepared myself for that. Still, the issues were painful.

Joanne faked her death in the previous book, and at the beginning of this one she's adamant about attending her funeral so she can watch everyone weeping over her body and then shock the hell out of them by revealing herself. Never mind that would completely undo the point of faking her death. Never mind how bad of an idea it is. Nope, she just wants to do it. (Wha-huh?)

And David, who is a freaking genie and could have magicked her to the bed or something to stop her from going decides "Well, I can't stop you." (Excuse me?!?!) And then, while they are at the funeral, they get approached by someone who says it's very important they all talk. The chapter ends about there, so you'd think the next chapter would be them going into some room and talking with this person, right? Nope, the next chapter is a few days later and the guy is like, "Well, I did want to talk to you, but you forgot all about me, and now it's too late and all hell has broken lose." (What?!?!)

But I digress, the plot holes and character stupidity I might have been able to overlook for another book or two (depending on how ridiculous they got). What really put the nails in the coffin for this series for me is the way the men in Joanne's life treat her.

There's a magical barrier that Joanne needs to get through but nothing alive can do so. Lewis comes up with the idea to kill her, which would let her pass through, and have her revived on the other side of line. Sounds like a perfectly logical plan ... except that Lewis doesn't tell her about it. He simply walks up to her and guns her down. And the reader get's to listen to Joanne's confused and terrified thoughts as she looks up in the eyes of her best friend and wonders why he's murdering her. And David, who she's romantically involved with, impregnates her through some genie ritual to "protect" her, again without explaining his plan or asking for her consent.

You'd expect Joanne to be pissed. She isn't. In fact she barely spends any thought on these actions once they are revealed, except to marvel at the idea of her and David's future child. Her body has been violated by both of these men. They have demonstrated the complete lack of faith they have in her mental reasoning and their complete disregard for her right to make her own decisions. Constantly, through the novel the men are asking her to trust them, but never once do they actually trust her. Constantly it is pointed out how rash and impulsive Joanne is perceived to be. These men profess to love her, and yet they couldn't have demonstrated more clearly how little respect they have for her. She is not treated as a grown woman with the right of making her own choices or the capability of even talking through the situation with the men. She's treated as a child that needs constant supervision and protection and for whom they have to make decisions for. And Joanne and the reader are supposed to be okay with this?

No. This is wrong and disgusting and abhorrent. These are not how people who love you and respect you act. These are not healthy relationships. And to put them out there with no consequence, as though these are not serious acts of betrayal and violation, is unacceptable. I quit.

I would still recommend the first book in the series, but I wouldn't go any further than that.

Lady Knight

Wow. I've been gone for a while, haven't I? I apologize. I've been having medical issues. Let's pick things back up with a familiar series.

Total shocker, right? What the heck happened? Well, part of it might be due to the fact that I was battling daily migraines at the time I was attempting to read this. But the other part of it, quite honestly, is that the plot of this book just kind of sits there.

Kel is knighted and given her first assignment at a refugee camp, an assignment she isn't happy about. She's been having visions about the mastermind behind the killing machines that have been roaming the country, and she'd much rather be battling them and bringing the man responsible in. Though, the camp itself has it's own issues that she has to navigate.

We begin the book on this premise. Over half way through the book, we are still on this premise. Kel is still at the camp, she is still having visions, she is still wishing there was more she could do. The plot has not moved forward in the slightest. I skimmed the majority of this book, and then finally gave up.

I was faced with the prospect that the plot might not pick up until the final chapters of the book, and that just wasn't worth waiting for. I'd read enough about Kel and her issues at the camp. I was ready to move forward into the "real" struggle and had no indication of when that would happen or if it could even turn my opinion of the book around when it did.

Perhaps it's an unfair rating given the personal struggles I was facing at the time. But I just got to the point where I need to call quits.

Moon Called

That cover is terrible, isn't it? I mean, you'd think this was erotica or something. And there's actually no sex in the book at all. Also Mercedes is half Native American and I'm pretty sure that cover is going for sexy white girl.

Terrible cover aside, I actually found this book enjoyable. How many urban fantasies feature "strong" female characters with a tough look and tough jobs who become useless the moment trouble starts, throw themselves at the new guy they know nothing about, and make unintelligent decisions that endanger their lives and contradict whatever mission their on? Mercedes isn't like that. Sure, she's tough, but she isn't perfect. And yes, she makes some questionable decisions, but she usually has a good reason.

I also enjoyed the story's mythology. The book has shapeshifters, werewolves, vampires, and fae, and they all have their own behaviors, magic, histories, and family groups.

What made the story fall flat for me was how everything ended. For one, it was too easy for Adam to take control of the opposing wolves. They were moon called and under the power of the alpha male, neither of which were explained, so they just laid down in front of him. And it was all very anti-climatic.

Then there's the main antagonist who turns out to be doing all these terrible things just to save his father's life. This guy we only met at the story's resolution, and he only gets about a paragraph or two of dialogue before he's killed. And we only meet his father for one short section of a chapter, and later only a paragraph describing his death. The whole situation is very tragic, and it is treated very casually, like a simple plot element. I don't feel the story delivered the emotional connection that the situation demanded.

Finally, I wasn't buying the date. Throughout the book, Merci never gives any indication that she is interested in Adam. While it is a bit of a set up in that Jesse tells Merci it's a group date and then flakes out so her father and Merci can have time together, that doesn't warrant a passionate kiss on Merci's front porch or Merci's decision to give it time to see what is going on between them. It all just comes out of nowhere.

So, I came out of this one with mixed feelings. I had been enjoying it, but all ended too weirdly. I could chalk it up to first-book syndrome and give the next book a try, but I'm not feeling very enthusiastic about it.

Goblin Hero

This was a bit of a disappointment from the previous book. We still have Jig and all his wonderfulness. He also has a great new set of companions. But the book divides itself, going back and forth between Jig and new goblin, named Veka, who also wants to be a hero, and she... leaves something to be desired.

My husband did not like Veka from the beginning, and was not crazy about the chapters we were forced to spend with her. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but by the end of the book she wasn't a character I had grown to care much about. If I decided to reread this book, I would skip all of Veka's chapters and just read Jig's. After all, it's Jig who made the first book as great as it was. He's where all the humor and enjoyment comes from.

I'm hoping the third and final book might redeem Veka's character a little, but this might turn out to be another series where only the first book is worth reading.

A Discovery of Witches

It's hard to judge a book fairly when having listened to it on audio. For one, the book opens on some every-day boring stuff. The main character, Diana, is off doing research for a paper, going to yoga, and rowing on the lake. Can I say the novel takes these boring tasks and makes them interesting? Unfortunately, all I can say is I enjoyed the narrator of the tape, so I stuck with it.

If you can get past the boring stuff at the beginning, this is a pretty interesting novel. It's full of human history as well as witches, demons, and vampires. The world building is done very well, and I really like the idea of vampires operating on a wolf pack mentality, diet, and sensory range. I also greatly enjoyed the cast of secondary characters.

The relationship between the two main characters can be a little... disconcerting at times. Mathew can come across as overbearing and demanding and Diana can seem needy and weak. And the keeping of secrets between the two of them is a constant source of frustration. Though, for the most part, their relationship comes off well.

I did enjoy this book, but from what I've seen from reviews of the next two books, I'm not sure I'll be continuing with this. But I would say it's worth a try for anyone who might be interested.

Squire

As Kel ages, each book in the series ages, making each one better than the last.

In this book, Kel is undergoing her final training and test before she will finally becoming the first female knight in a decade. Kel even finds love in this book, and I have to admit the relationship surprised me and I was uncertain at first of Kel's true feelings on the matter. All of Kel's previous relations and struggles and are expanded upon here, creating a more and more enjoyable read.

Goblin Quest

Goblin Quest is a beautiful parody of every Dungeons & Dragons adventuring party. If you haven't played any table top RPGs or enjoy epic-fantasy adventuring novels, than the point of this novel is going to be lost on you. On the other hand, if you have...

Jig is the runt in a tribe of goblins. He's not strong and he's half blind. But, Jig is also rather intelligent for a goblin, having been gifted with common sense. Jig is forced to act as guide for an adventuring party consisting of an arrogant prince, a power hungry wizard, a war eager dwarf, and a reluctant elf thief.

Jig is the hero of this tale, and though he'd much rather find a nice hole to hide in, it's Jig who is often the voice of reason among the adventuring party. And he saves their lives on more than one occasion, much to the chagrin of the arrogant prince.

Part of what made this book such a joy was reading it aloud in the car to my husband and having him laugh along with me. That and the sheer humor in this book made it a joy to read.