Lately, it's been just one super book after another! Sometimes, series get stale. But I've had the good fortune to read the latest Patricia Briggs' Mercy book, Silver Borne, Jim Butcher's Changes (#12 in the Dresden Files), and now Lisa Shearin's Bewitched & Betrayed, book 4 of Raine Benares. Each one might be my favorite in the series so far and each was absolutely incredible.
As a teaser for each, let me see what I can come up with:
- Silver Borne - Remember the book on the fey that Mercy borrowed to get Zee out of trouble when he was framed for murder? Well, she hasn't returned it yet, and if you thought the library was tough, they ain't got nothing on the fey. Oh, and there's the little detail of us being introduced to the woman who is going to be Samuel's love interest. Oh, yeah. Gotcha.
- Changes - This one is easy. What would Harry do to save the daughter he didn't know he had from Red Court vampires? Read it and find out. My new favorite secondary character is Mouse. I always liked Mouse, but for a little while in the book, we got to hear Mouse 'speak'. Loved it!
- Bewitched & Betrayed - *read the following in a sing-song voice* Raine picks her boyfriend... Raine picks her boyfriend... *end sing-song*. 'Nuff said. It was supa. Just supa. The actions, the relationships, the humor - it was all a lovely delight. I just finished it and I'm still giddy and squeeeeing. And if Lisa doesn't get the book contracts she's proposing later this year, I'm going to go around pimp-slapping publishing house big-wigs. She MUST keep writing books. And they need to pay her enough that she can quit her full-time job and write more. And faster, because now there's no more Raine fix until next year. Weeping, weeping. :(
Anyways, all of you, go forth and purchase books. And to my sister, P - if you don't start reading those Shearin books, I'm going to kick your... breadmaker. No more dinner rolls for you. Just see if I don't. READ THEM OR FACE MY WRATH.
I'll read them, I swear!....oh, hold on, I can make your luscious dinner rolls now ;) I tried to start them again this week--I definitely think she goes into way too much detail trying to setup the story in the first couple chapters...its so hard for me to cram all that knowledge in and keep up with it at the beginning of the book.
ReplyDeleteNote to writers from the reader's perspective: at the beginning, get some action and the basics in....then add more (as appropriate) as the story progresses.
Maybe that's just the way I learn though...who knows. I'll try really hard, Ames--I promise!
Penny - Oh, I know you can now make my dinner rolls, but see, if I destroy your breadmaker, then what happens? Huh? Huh?
ReplyDeleteAnd what you mentioned about not info-dumping on the reader is one of the toughest things for new writers to accomplish. Ironically, I recently read a book co-written by one of my all-time fav authors, who's been a pro-writer for your whole life, and it was one of the worst cases of info-dumping that I've ever encountered.