Dhampir by Barb and J.C. Hendee

SPECIFICATIONS:

Publisher: ROC

Format: Kindle

RATINGS:

*Amazon: 4.0 out of 5 Stars (110 reviews)

*GoodReads: 3.75 out of 5 Stars (1,952 Ratings; 187 Reviews)

Reading is Fundamental-

**Book:

*Note- Ratings and statistics current at the time review was written.

** Chris' rating. Not necessarily the rating other members of the club might give.

This was Kayla's pick for our book of the month selection in August, 2011.  She's been trying to get me to read this series forever, and she finally had me over a barrel.  I tried to start reading it about a year ago, but I didn't get more than about two chapters in.  I think there are a couple of reasons for that and they ARE NOT because this is a bad book.  It's not.  I found it pretty average fair.  I will likely read the rest of the series at some point, but I won't be escalating it on my priority list so who knows when that will be.  The list is pretty long.  Since I'm on the topic of book club, let me just do a roll call of sorts. 

Sharon (my mom, not my wife) had read this one already, but agreed to re-read it since Kayla really wanted to make this her selection. Ultimately, I don't believe she got around to it, but she did read Thief of Lives (Dhampir #2) and she had already read Sister of the Dead (Dhampir #3).  There's a story here, but it basically boils down to the fact that she accidentally picked up the books out of order a while back.  She loves these books and intends to finish out the series, but she was somewhat withdrawn from the discussion for fear of spoiling the remaining books for the rest of us.

Kayla, of course thinks these are the greatest things since sliced bread. I love her dearly, so I won't hold it against her (just kidding, Boo, this one was pretty okay and I trust you when you say they get even better).

Christine also enjoyed the book but she too found it pretty average, giving it three stars.  I intended to get ratings from all of them, but somehow I got distracted and she was the only one I got.  I apparently hit the page button two fast at one point while I was reading Dhampir, and wouldn't you know that the portion I missed became relevant to my evaluation of the book.  When I brought up my issue, Christine remembered the necessary information and was able to locate it for me.

Alas, in the crush of beginning the fall semester at Nicholls, moving into the dorm, and working, Courtney didn't finish the book and elected not to stay for the meeting.  We all love you anyway Sweet heart, and will overlook your transgression, just this once.  I know you've already finished reading September's selection ;)

I should have taken better notes at the meeting, because I can't, for the life of me remember what Brandi thought of this book.  I don't think any of us actively disliked it, but I don't recall her singing it's praises either.  Sorry, Sis, I'm getting old and senile and my memory isn't nearly as good as it should be.  I do remember that you weren't a big fan of Magiere in the beginning of the book, but I can't remember if she grew enough for you to like her or not.  Now, Perks of Being a Wallflower? I remember EXACTLY where you stand on that book.

Sam, my brother-in-law (Brandi's husband) and new club member, loved the book.  In fact, after reading it, he went out and bought the rest of the series and was a fair way through it by the time we held the meeting.  Like, Sharon, he was cautious about contributing do to the spoiler factor, but he raised an excellent point about denial and human nature with regard to a criticism I had.  Honestly, the remark was so insightful that I have reevaluated that particular point and have come to the conclusion that he's right.

Okay! So on with my review.  Please note that unless otherwise indicated, the opinions I will express from this point forward are mine and might not be shared by the rest of the members of our book club.

As I've already stated, I had difficulty getting into Dhampir, which is a bit odd because it could easily be categorized as Urban Fantasy.  The thing is, it has more of a high fantasy feel with it's feudal society and focus on medieval weaponry.  I've also become accustomed to books written in the first person, which I prefer, and this one is not.

To a lesser degree, I think who the characters are at the beginning of the book (as opposed to who they evolve into) also kept me from completely committing at first.  I tend to be pretty patient when it comes to character development, so I really don't think this played a major role, BUT the protagonists ARE difficult to like at first.  I believe this was intentional on the part of the writers as it allows for a broader growth over the course of the book.

This book is written by a husband and wife team.  Unlike, Ilona Andrews, however, I don't think they manage a seamless amalgam.  Rather than character growth, portions of the book made me feel like I was reading about completely different people than at other times.  They were both teachers possibly both professors (Barb definitely was. English, go figure;) and I think this shows in their writing.  It felt somewhat stiff to me.  I'll acknowledge, however, that this COULD be due to the fact that I've been reading so much first person narrative lately.

The writers' also made an interesting choice with regard to the antagonists.  All (and there are several of them) were given a detailed back story that made them fairly sympathetic.  I can't really decide if this was a good or a bad move.  Going about it this way gave the bad guys a depth of character that is rarely developed in books these days.  At the same time, it made me want a better solution than the one that it is (predictably) implemented.

Finally, the writers intended this to be the first in a series of books (the remainder of which have long since published) so, obviously there are alot of questions that go unanswered.  Some people, might call the very end a cliff hanger, although I wouldn't.  It definitely announces that another book will follow, but it doesn't leave you in any real suspense. Overall, this is a very descent book and I do recommend it.  

-Chris

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

SPECIFICATIONS:

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Format: Unabridged - Audible Audio / 11 hours 17 min

Narrators: Tavia Gilbert

RATINGS:

*Amazon: 4.4 out of 5 Stars (332 reviews)

*GoodReads: 4.3 out of 5 Stars (14,203 Ratings; 1,932 Reviews)

Reading is Fundamental-

Book:

Narrator:

*Note- Ratings and statistics current at the time review was written.

This was my first Jeaniene Frost book, and it certainly won't be my last.  Original characters? Nope.  Twisty turny plot line? Uh uh. High tension story telling? Your joking right? Beautiful prose? You can't see, but I'm smirking at you. Well then, what was so great about this book, Chris?!

I'll say this, it might be a bit early to make this comparison, having read only one of her books, but I think that Jeaniene may be the Nora Roberts of the PnR genre.  I don't know if she intended to write camp here, or if it just worked out that way, but the ride from start to finish was a blast.  This book was pure supernatural candy and I loved every minute of it.  Alright, not EVERY minute of it, I didn't give it 5 stars, after all, but it was well worth my time.

Cat is a 22 year old vampire slayer.  She's been knocking off the oversized mosquitoes, with her mother's blessing, since she was about 16.  Then one day... errrr night... she runs into a little more than she can handle.  Cat's life will never be the same, okay, well it won't be ALL THAT different.  She'll still wack blood sucking vermin every chance she gets, she'll just do it with more pizazz. 

As I said already, Jeaniene's characters are by no means original.  Cat is your stereo typical, kick ass vampire slayer and Bones is your run of the mill bad boy love interest.  Her brilliance in constructing them is how over the top she is about it.  I know the comparison has been made about a thousand times, but think Buffy the Vampire Slayer and your pretty much there. 

Thru much of this book Cat is tempered with a believable innocence that makes her seem nearly as vulnerable as she is lethal.  This is a fantastic combination because it creates a necessary place in the story for her would be protector, Bones.  He's not just tacked on as a cosmetic piece to make the ladies all hot and bothered.  Don't get me wrong, Cat is all about girl power, but Bones gets to let his protective instincts out.  Again, think Nora Roberts.

My major complaint in this one is really a fairly minor one.  It is clear going in that Jeaneine intended to write a series, thus there are copious plot threads left dangling at the end of the book.  That wasn't so much a problem for me.  No, my major heartache is that things develope a bit to fast:

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I would have liked to have seen the romantic tension stretched out across multiple books.  I can see how she intends to re-introduce the tension from the way the book ended, but it won't be the same.  There is nothing quite like that period where two people are first getting to know each other and begin to let their guards down.

In a similar vein, I think Cat's martial abiltiy was amped up to quickly.  Not from a book "time" standpoint, Jeaneine did a good job of simulating the passage of time so that the leap in skill was at least somewhat believable.  But, instead, I would have preferred that it take us at least a couple of books before she's simultaneously downing multiple vampire opponents with the greatest of ease. 

The danger of this kind of book is if you come in taking it too seriously based on all the positive reviews.  This isn't a very serious book (not that I'm saying it's a comedy, it certainly isn't).  As with all good camp, this book is somewhat tongue in cheek, without beating you over the head with goofiness.  If you read it for what it is, I think you'll come away happier for the experience!

-Chris

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

SPECIFICATIONS:

Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Format: Unabridged - 10 Compact Discs / 12 hours 16 min

Narrators: Jenna Lamia, Pierce Cravens, Dan Bittner, Emma Galvin

RATINGS:

*Amazon: 3.8 out of 5 Stars (133 reviews)

*GoodReads: 3.99 out of 5 Stars (7,899 Ratings, 2,252 Reviews)

Reading is Fundamental-

Book:

Narrator:

*Note- Ratings and statistics at the time of review was written.

On the whole I think this was an excellent series that I highly recommend, but to me, Forever falls far short of its predecessors both as an individual story and especially as a series finale.

As this is the third and final book in the series, I'm loathe to give a synopsis because it would potentially contain spoilers for the books that come before it.  Thus, this will have to do: Forever is about werewolves, but not your typical werewolves.  I would hazard to guess that you've never seen werewolves like these before (unless of course you've read the first two books!).  The story focuses on three particular werewolves and their various interpersonal relationships.  Pretty lame, huh.  Yeah, well, that's all you get, read the series!

Having read and reviewed the first two installments (my review of Shiver is here and of Linger is here), I don't have anything new to say about Maggie's writing mechanics.  I will reiterate that she is a very good writer who does a masterful job of straddling the line between descriptive narrative and purple prose.  Her style is both fluid and mature (which is great to see out of a YA author).

I will not get into a full discussion of the split narrative here as I spoke about it a little bit in my review of Shiver and at length in my review of Linger, but I will point to Forever, as a prime example of the style's inherent short comings.

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It didn't matter as much in Shiver, because there was no conflict in Sam and Grace's feelings for each other, but in Forever, as in Linger, we see thru the eyes of both Isabelle and Cole as their relationship develops.  As we alternate in and out of their head space, we see that both like each other quite a bit, which lessens the romantic tension between the two.  Maggie has handled the situation deftly enough that the romance between the two is not wrecked, however, there isn't much suspense as they both clearly want to be with each other.

Things that I have complained about in the other books are still present in this book.  Not the least of which is gender confusion. I think, Maggie did a better job with this aspect in Linger than she did in Shiver, but it returns again in full measure her in Forever. Sam has consistantly been the girlie boy from the get go, but Cole is much more affected in this book than he was in the last.  I am NOT going to cite specific examples at this time because I am plannning an essay which will focus on the difficulties of authors creating convincing characters of the opposing gender.  This series of books will feature heavily in that piece.

If Forever is more of the same, why three stars instead of four? Well, to start, this one dragged a bit more than the others did.  It seems to be a fairly common complaint, that this one was slow to get started, and I appear to be in the majority (for a change) in that I feel the same way.

Where I appear to be in the minority is that, I didn't feel that this book had the same emotional impact as the earlier ones did. Spoilers inbound!

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Isabelle's loss of her brother, Jack, and her feelings of responsibility for it, in Shinver, connected with me on a primal level.  Nearly identically, I felt for Cole at the loss of Victor.  While Cole was not the one who shot Victor, certainly he had a very active role in placing Victor in the path of the bullet.  While we have the deaths of Olivia and Beck in Forever, neither hit me as hard.  Olivia because we hardly knew her and Beck because Maggie has spent the last two books slowly revealing his darker side.  It's not that I didn't like Beck.  I did.  And I do feel for Sam, but I pretty much expected Beck to die once we discoverd his duplicity in Sam's infection with the virus.  It's an old storyline really, wherein the scales have to be balanced.

Perhaps a bigger contributor to my less than powerful reaction over Beck's death however was the manner in which it came.  To me it was very difficult to believe that Shelby, in her wolf form and operating almost exclusively on instinct, would have taken that particular moment to turn on Beck.  Helicopter thundering away and the pack in a panic. Her animal mind should have been focused more on survival than opportunity.

Another major flaw I had with Forever, was the ending.  Potential ground work for a possible fourth book aside, what happens in the climax doesn't make alot of sense.  Can't say more without spoilers, soooooo...

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First off, there is no way that once the shooting started ANYONE would have had to lead the wolves to the safety of the nearby forest.  Instinct would have done that without Sam having to charge to the front and lead them there. 

Beside that, I had a nearly impossible time seeing Sam as an alpha wolf.  He simply doesn't have an alpha personality.  Cole? Probably. Grace? Probably.  Isabelle? Not a wolf, but without a doubt! Sam? Nope, not working for me.  Yes, the whole packed loved him, but that's not how wolves function.

The whole thing is moot, however, because simply getting them to the trees would not be enough.  If it were, they would never have been in any danger to begin with.  They already lived in a forest.  The problem was the people that wanted to kill them knew where the pack was.  Know what?  At the end of this book, those same people that wanted to kill them, are still very much alive, have had no apparent change of heart, and know exactly where the wolves can be found since they watched them run into the new forest.

Someone will certainly scream "Private property!" but I'm not buying it.  IF (I say IF because I thought this was a dubious proposition to begin with) the wolves were enough of a hazard to life and limb to have a special law pass for their irradication, public safety would have demanded that the hunt continue whether on private property or not.

In the end, the final event doesn't really resolve the major situation presented in this book, or the culmination of the series as a whole.  Oh well, we at least get a relatively happy ending.

-Chris

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Warning! This was written for shear entertainment value, views expressed may not be the actual views of the writer.  If you have not read the Twilight books or seen the movies, you may not want to continue as I've made no attempt to hide spoilers.  You have been warned!!
-Chris

* * * * * * * * * *

Like, oh my gawd, I was, ya know, like talkin' with my rainbow friend, Hodo,  from GR about writing reviews for books.

She was like, "there is no way, I can write reviews... As if! I totally, like, read waaaay to fast, and my writing is, like, totally bogus."

And I was like, "What-ever! I'm so sure you could totally, like, write a review if you wanted too. Just, like, write the way you talk, ya know? It'll be bitchin'. Duh!'"

But she was like, "As if! People totally, like, make fun of the way I talk. So, um, what-ever!"

Then, I was like, "Seriously, girlfriend, you need to own it Rainbow Gurl.  It could so totally be, like, your thing."

So she was like, "I'm so sure, betch! That would, like, be totally bunk."

And I was like,"Pffft! I'll, like, totally show you, Betch!.  It'll be killer."

* * *

So like, I don't know... a few years ago, I read this book. I think it was called, um, like "Sunset" or "Night Time" or "It's Getting Dark Outside"... something like that.  Oh c'mon, seriously!... it had that tre hawt vampire dude and that totally emo gurl in it! Um, and, like, that wolf boy too, only like, we didn't find out he was like, a wolf boy until, you know, like the second book or whatever. Ya know, um, like the book with the totally trippendicular apple on the cover.

That book was, like, totally rad, but like, I'm so suuure, a piece of fruit? Seriously?! I totally don't get it. Is it, like, supposed to make me hungry or somethin? I don't know, maybe it's, like, some stupid metaphorical crap, you know, like forbidden fruit.  Which is, like, way so weird cuz, um, like, my mom... she never told me I couldn't, like, ya know, eat an apple if I wanted to sooo... Well, there was this one time, where, like, the apples were, um, like, all moldy and stuff, and mom was like, don't eat those, and I was like, "Gah! Ma-uuum, totally, gag me with a spoon! Yeah, like I'm gonna eat one of those. Duh!"  ANYway, passion fruit...  Like, that would so totally make more sense, but what-ever.

So like, emo gurl, is, um, like, from Arizona, only like her mom is totally in luv with this baseball guy and like, so emo gurl, decides to go live with her dad in, um, this town called Forks.  It rains there, like, all the time, so that's where the way crucial vampires go, cuz ya know, sparkly skin in the sunlight and all, hellooo.  So emo gurl starts school and all the primo guys are totally like, "she's totally awesome," but she's like, "gag me, boy toys, I'm all about hawt vampire dude," only she doesn't know he's, um, like, a vampire, yet.  So, yeah, it's like that.

Anyway, like, this Stephenie chick... she's not like, ya know, the most fantabulous writer ever, but she's, like, way so easy to read, and her books are, like totally, fun. Like, totally... Um, except for like that lame-o shopping scene. I mean like, duh, prom dress shopping, and all emo gurl can think about is some stupid book? As if! Like, what a betch. Her friends are like totally in the middle of a fashion crisis, and like she just wants to go to a book store?  Really?! Um, like, if one of my chickadees, like totally bailed on me, there would be, like, soooo much trouble.

Like this one time, um, me and my bestie, Brittney were like, ya know, out shopping with Megan (gag me) and like Brittney found this trippin pair of Jimmy Choos, but like, they totally clashed with her new Louis Vuitton, and I was like, "Oh my gawd, you like totally have to get them anyway, they'll be mag with your Dolce," and Brittney was like, "yeah, but I can't carry my Dolce when I'm, like, wearing that Christian Dior," and I was like, "duh! that would be totally grody," and I'm like looking at Megan, who's totally burried in her cell, and I'm like, "Megan, helloooo! some help here, what do you think?" and Megan was like, "Oh my gawd, my mom just texted me that my dad was in a car crash, I gotta go!"  And then she, like... left. What-ever... Betch!

Gah, so frustrating... anyway, like, what was I sayin?... Oh, yeah! Um, Chica writes tasty man candy, yum!  Totally hawt vampire dude, ftw.  Um, there is NO way I play for team furball, Duh! Men are totally dawg-like enough without, ya know, shedding everywhere. Like, do you have ANY idea how hard it is to get dawg fur off of chiffon?! Barf me out!

So, um, I'm, like, readin this book and, like, there's this one part, where, like, hawt vampire dude is totally like sneakin into emo gurl's room at night and, like, ya know, um, watchin her, like sleep and stuff.  And I'm kinda like, oh my gawd, that is so, um, ya know, like creepy.  But then, I'm like, fer sure, betch, he's like totally a vampire, and he's soooooo hawt, so it's, like, all good and stuff... and um even tho, he like totally wants to, like, ya know, bite her and suck her blood, he like, totally loves her and stuff.  So then, I was like,  awwwe, that's like, soooo sweet. Seriously! Like, where can I get me some vampire lovin'?

Okay! So like there ya go! In summary, totally stay away from, like, moldy apples (bleh, grody to the max), shopping rules- bookstores drool (as if), duh! wolf hair is not a fashion accessory (I'm so sure), and creepy guys should, like totally stay out of the bedroom unless they are totally hawt vampire dudes (seriously!). I love Twilight, it's, like, soooo relevant!

-Chris  

Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

I was looking over the reviews for Bloodfever at Amazon (primarily the negative ones, as usual) and a couple of things became quickly apparent.

1. You are more likely to dislike this book if you are a PnR junkie and you love Karen for her Highlander series;
2. It is more likely that you disliked this book if you read it before the rest of the series had been release, particularly if Faefever (Fever #3) had not been published yet.

The first two books in this series are the ONLY Karen Marie Moning books I've read thus far and I lean a little more to the Urban Fantasy side of the genre than the PnR side.  So with respect to #1 above, I had no prior expectations coming in (other than those foisted on me by those at GoodReads who had already read the entire series) and I don't NEED to have the romance (funny how so many spell it that way when they really mean to write S*E*X) to make the story worth my time.

With respect to #2, I have to admit that I might be a whole lot less forgiving of this series if I had started it back in 2007 when these two were the only ones published and no one knew how much better they would get (note that I'm taking it on faith that they get better as I have not even started Faefever yet). It's easy to be patient knowing that at any moment I can pick up the next book and see how things progress (or pick them all up and see how it ends).  Waiting at least a year between reads would have been a lot harder to take.

Given these two observations, I think Karen took a hell of a risk writing these books the way she did.  The big problem here is no different from what I mentioned in my review of Darkfever.  That is, the series is really a single book that has been broken into five parts.  Neither of the first two installments has made much of an attempt to be its own self contained story. Personally, I believe this is poor plotting and more than a bit manipulative. It's like the writer is holding the story ransome.  I completely sympathize with people who feel cheated when they finish reading one of these.  Especially if they read them back in 2007.

Despite this fact, I really liked Bloodfever.  I tend to give more 3 star rating than 4 star ones (except lately- having found GR, I tend to read more on recommendation than I used to which naturally means I'm more likely to read a quality book than when I was picking more or less at random), so the fact that I gave this one four stars naturally means that I found it above average.

As I stated above, this book is flawed, primarily because it's not... a book, that is.  It's a section of a book. Publishing it in this manner lends itself to the insertion of filler material so that there is enough in the section that we can call it a book.  There be spoilers here, but you don't need to look at them to understand what I'm saying... Karen includes a fair amount of material that does little to move the plot forward.

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Karen gives us a bunch of unnecessary material about Mac taking over Barrons' store and the changes she makes.  We get a completely inconsequential visit from her father (which either should have been more relevant or handled over the phone). We spend more time on the unexplained murder of a detective (I'm sure this will be important later) than is stricktly necessary. Essentially, scenes that could have been handled more succinctly are stretched to take up space. 

Sounds like I'm griping, doesn't it. So why four stars? Two words: character development. Oh! and a third word: REALISM.

Please understand that what I'm about to laud as a strength, you may (as many others have) see as a weakness. The changes in Mac's character do not represent a smooth transition.  I've seen a bunch of complaints about it, believe me.  Some people hate that she continues to show spoiled, Barbie-like characteristics. Some hate that she continues to make some pretty bone headed mistakes.  Some dislike the fact that she continues to grieve the loss of her sister. They want her to be a high speed, low drag, kick-ass-who-needs-names, heroine with flawless instincts, and they want it NOW.

Thing is, that doesn't happen over night.  In life, real change is exceedingly difficult.  People rarely get it right on their first attempt. Let me suggest the most common and probably relatable one... Ever decided you were going to get fit?  Gonna tear yourself away from the books or the TV and start exercising?  Eat better?  Eat less?  How'd that work out for ya? The hard part was just making the decision to do it, right? Yeah, okay, whatever.

For me the brilliance in this series is the GRADUAL character development. Mac is coming along, and she's doing it in a very realistic way.  She has become more capable, but she makes mistakes.  She's become less naive, but still hasn't figured out whom she should trust and whom she shouldn't.  She's become more of a "do"er but she still complains from time to time.  She's become more practical, but necessary wardrobe choices are still an afront to her tastes.  In short, she's not there yet, and if you expect her to be by the end of this "book" you're in for a disappointment.

There's one more thing I'd like to address, as I saw quite a few complaints about it, but it's strictly story based.  No way to talk about it in the abstract.  If you haven't read the book, skip over it cuz there's nothing here for you.

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Lots of complaints about the "cannibalism".  First off, to my knowledge (only two books in, this could change, but I doubt it), she's not fey, so cannibalism isn't the correct term, but I guess I shouldn't quibble.  Honestly, I was a bit dubious about this as well, but not for the same reasons I commonly see mentioned.

For me the problem here is the mechanics.  If it's so easy to slice up the fey and eat them, then they aren't nearly the threat they've been made out to be.  Okay, so we can't kill them, but apparently we can cut off large chunks of them (purportedly leaving them eternally maimed) and even eat them to gain a measure of their power.  I'm not sure how a normal person can digest immortal flesh. If chewing and stomach acid is enough to break the flesh down into a useable state, then... <sigh> Suspending disbelief here is alot of work.

Nevertheless, accepting it as a given (because that's the way Karen wants it), I'm not bothered that Mac stooped to eating the flesh of a sentient being.  The alternative was death after all.  Moreover, if Barrons was right and Mac needs to be a little "less good" so that she doesn't pass out while searching for the big bad book (you didn't think I was gonna try and spell it, did you? I'm too lazy to look it up right now), I think this morally questionable act may benefit her in more ways than the obvious.  Regardless, we do what is necessary to survive at the time or we die.  I don't fault this choice and it's certainly something to throw back at all those people that continue to complain about her "Barbie"-ness.  Her apparent "joy" in consuming the flesh was a response to the infusion of power, not the act itself, so let's not over react here.

All-in-all, I like Bloodfever, despite it's flaws and really appreciate this method of character development for its realism.  I'm very much looking forward to the next one, but as I have been told that the next two books end on epic cliff hangers, I will not be starting Faefever until I know I'll have time to read Dreamfever and Shadowfever too.  I'm hoping that will be this month, but I have to knock out our book club selection, three remaining Book of the Month selections for GR and two selections for the Bi-monthly Theme contest first.  Here's hoping!

-Chris

Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

I know it may be difficult to believe, but this is my first Richelle Mead book.  For years, I've seen the Vampire Academy books in stores, but never got around to reading one.  I probably would have started there, but Succubus Blues was one of our Book of the Month selections for August on GoodReads, so it got the nod.

This isn't the best PnR / Urban Fantasy I've ever read, but like Firelight, it is a book with amazing potential.  Unlike Firelight, Succubus Blues doesn't spend most of it's time on filler material and wasn't nearly as annoying to me.  If Firelight was a weak three stars, then Succubus Blues is a much stronger three stars (probably something closer to a 3.75).  I'm very much looking forward to the other books in this series as I hear they get better (pretty typical for series books in this genre).

Succubus Blues is told from the first person perspective of Georgina Kincaid, a long time succubus who has grown disenchanted with the lifestyle.  When local immortals start turning up dead suspicion initially falls on Georgina, but it's quickly apparent that she could never have managed the killings.  Before she knows it, Georgina is caught up in a race to determine the true identity of the killer before she loses her own life, or worse, one of the lives of her fiends... err... friends. 

Nothing really stands out for me about Richelle's writing style. Her characterization is fair, her pacing is good, and her plotting is reasonable.  I found this story somewhat predictable, but I don't really see that as a flaw (most heavy readers are good at figuring out who-done-its).

My biggest complaint is her world building.  As this is the first book in a series, I don't expect Richelle to explain everything about her world to me, but I do expect her to tell me enough for the premise to make sense.  In this book the relation between, and the purpose of, the various immortals is pretty relevant, but Richelle never gives a clear understanding of their role in the grand scheme of things.  In one particularly annoying part, Georgina says in the narrative something to the affect of, "I explained to him the rules of being a succubus..." (not a direct quote but close enough).  This caused me some degree of consternation because I kept thinking, would you explain them to me, PLEASE.

Without this background knowledge it was difficult for me to suspend disbelief as it pertained to the cooperation of the immortals portrayed in the book.  Look, I'm a lawyer.  I understand that working in an adversarial system does not foreclose friendship between opposing parties.  I've gone to lunch with opposing counsel on many occasions and consider most of them my friends outside the court room.  Richelle, implies that being an immortal in her world is similar in that the forces of good and evil are really just a bunch of beings trying to get by.  The epic battle for souls is merely an occupation.  Kind of like this (feel free to stop after about the 1:30 mark, although, this is one of my personal favorites and the end IS directly on point):



Somewhat obsurd, right?  To me, as explained thus far, the world of Succubus Blues isn't far off.  I mean we're talking about people's souls here.

My favorite stories involve a gradual fall from grace, ala The Dresden Files or The Hollows, where actions, over time, taken in the name of good result in the protagonist becoming what he or she fights against.  Similarly, I love a redemption story, where our protagonist, once of questionable morales, endeavors to rise above and attone for past actions. 

The Georgina Kincaid series appears to want to be the latter and I'm happy to continue reading to see how it progresses, but personally, I feel Richelle has created a back story for Georgina that is overly sympathetic and not quite "sell my soul" worthy.  There are alot of intervening years between Georgina's origin and where the story takes up in Succubus Blues.  Purportedly, she was at one point, the best at whatever it is that Succubi do (not the sex part, although I'm sure she's good at that too, but the soul corrupting / harvesting or whatever part), so maybe in future books she'll prove to be sufficiently evil to make a good redemption story out of it.

-Chris

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

First off, I found The Help quite enjoyable.  Mind you, for me, "enjoyable" and "good" aren't always the same.  Take Twilight for instance.  As most of you know I'm a HUGE fan (I even have a "Team Alice" T-shirt).  I gave high ratings to all the books in that series, specifically because I found them immensely enjoyable.  Good?  Not so much.  Stephenie's writing is pretty average, she has a strange way of structuring the plot, you REALLY have to suspend disbelief at times, she's not always internally consistence with regard to the rules she has established for her world, the list goes on and on.  Sometimes a book is just soooo... fun... I'm able to let all the other stuff go.  Other times all I can see are the flaws.  It's not really fair, but it is what it is.

The Help was not only enjoyable, it was good too.  I almost gave it five stars, but in the end, I had some minor issues that kept me from doing so.  I'm not much into historical fiction (this counts as historical fiction, right?) but this book was definitely worth my time. It's been a while since I've read anything as conventional as The Help.  Except for the occasional blip, I've primarily read Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, and Urban Fantasy for the last couple of years.  This being the case, The Help feels much more "serious" than what I've become accustomed to.  As a result, I found the few flaws I encountered harder to ignore.

Taking place in the early 60's, this book chronicles how three very different women come together to tell the story of what it means to be a black servant in white southern society. Having completed her degree at Ole Miss, "Skeeter" a young, white  woman returns to Jackson only to discover that Constantine, the black woman, who for all intents and purposes raised her, has left the employ of her family under mysterious conditions.  Skeeter quickly becomes disenchanted with the actions of her socialite friends and decides to tell the stories, both good and bad, of the colored women serving white families in the South.  Aibileen, a wise and compassionate woman of color who has raised 17 white children over the course of her life, is recovering from the death of her son and eventually agrees to help.  The pair enlist the assistance of Minny, a fiesty and temperamental black woman recently black listed from work in white homes by the Slander of Hilly Holbrook, apparent queen bee in Jackson, friend and former school mate of Skeeter.

Kathryn employs the split narrative to tell this story.  As recently discussed in my review of Linger, I don't really like the use of split narrative, but I think it was not only extremely effective in this book, but also necessary for this story to be told at all.  The differences in perspective are essential to the story and Kathryn does a marvelous job with them.  Each character used to move the plot forward (Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny) is likeable and, just as importantly, relateable each in her own way.

The Help, feels well researched.  That is, for the most part, the deep south of the early 60's seemed authentic to me, tho I have no particular expertise in this area.  Kathryn uses historical events (National Guard deployment to Ole Miss, the murder of Medgar Evers, etc.) to help sustain the atmosphere and the relevancy of her protagonists' project. Throughout the book, I felt the danger and the tension that must accompany an undertaking of the type these three courageous women embarked on.  This is a strength through most of the book, but created a kind of weakness near the end.  See the spoiler for more details.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Challenging the status quo during the equal rights movement of the 60's was extraordinarily dangerous. The realism of this book takes a hit for its more or less happy ending. It's highly unlikely that Aibileen or Minny would have escaped it unscathed and even less likely that they would achieve the measure of happiness they were allowed.

Minny's employment woes may have been over due to the strong relationship she built with Celia and her husband, but that wouldn't have protected her from the physical retribution she likely would have to face. Aibileen is even less believeable as she was allowed to take over Skeeter's cleaning column with the local paper. Of course, Skeeter herself escapes danger by taking a job in New York. It was nice to get a happy ending, but, to me at least, these were contrived and not quite in sync with the serious nature of the book.

Despite this criticism, I wanted Hilly to suffer more than she did for all her evil actions in the book, which would have been REALLY unbelievable. My point I guess is that Kathryn should have gone farther to give us the happy ending or been more realistic with the repercussions. The middle ground she chose weakend the book for me.

Minny's employment woes may have been over due to the strong relationship she built with Celia and her husband, but that wouldn't have protected her from the physical retribution she likely would have to face.  Aibileen is even less believeable as she was allowed to take over Skeeter's cleaning column with the local paper.  Of course, Skeeter herself escapes danger by taking a job in New York. 

It was nice to get a happy ending, but, to me at least, these were contrived and not quite in sync with the serious nature of the book.  Despite this criticism, I wanted Hilly to suffer more than she did for all her evil actions in the book, which would have been REALLY unbelievable.  My point I guess is that Kathryn should have gone farther to give us the happy ending or been more realistic with the repercussions.  The middle ground she chose weakend the book for me.

While I wasn't particularly bothered by them, there were some scenes in this book that surprised me for their crass natures and others that were more graphic than I would have expected from this type of book.  If you have a low tolerance for the gross, take into account that there may be some rough spots in this book for you.

As I'm sure you're aware, Hollywood has gotten a hold of this book.  In fact, I would probably never have read it if it weren't for the movie.  The preview for it is somewhat misleading with regard to the content of the story which is odd because all the scenes in the previews come from the book.  Their arrangement, however, makes the movie appear lighter than it actually is.  Having seen only the preview before reading the book, I was somewhat taken off guard (not in a bad way) by the heaviness of the story.



I'm a big fan of Emma Stone and loved seeing her play a role so very different from what I'm used to seeing her in.  But don't be fooled.  This is NOT a comedy; it has real emotional weight (think Steel Magnolias or Fried Green Tomatoes).  It had some funny moments but this was a faithful representation of the book.  I would have prefered that Celia's portion in the movie had been handled better, but I understand the limitations that the movie had to operate under.  I highly recommend this story in both its literary and motion picture formats.

-Chris