Thursday, December 30, 2010

Opal Cowan Series Review

I just finished Maria V. Snyder's Glass/Opal Cowan series (Storm GlassSea Glass and Spy Glass). It was compelling and included just the right amount of "cameos" for the Study Series characters. All of the major players were included (save perhaps the Commander, who was only mentioned) but did not dominate scenes or events in the book. They were used appropriately as supporting cast. It was great to see those characters alive again without turning the series into Study, Part 2.

I only have one chief complaint, which has nothing to do with the writing, just an issue I had with a relationship between characters in the book. I won't espouse on that now, as it would be a spoiler. Suffice it to say, it's a sort of Team Edward vs. Team Jacob kind of thing. But, beyond that, the message is a poor one sort of like saying vampires are OK to date, but something more rational and real world that should mean someone is undateable. But I digress.

Snyder again fleshed out her characters well and made me read all three books in the span of a few days (much like when I read the Study series). It's a beautifully-written modern fantasy series and Snyder's Inside Out is in my ereader to be accessed in the very near future.

Jaz Parks Once Bitten, Twice Shy Review

I recall in college a friend of mine would compare whether it was a "good movie" or a "good time," meaning it was either truly a good piece of cinematic art or just an enjoyable movie to watch. The Jaz Parks series is definitely a "good time," it's not epic literature, it's just a fun read. It's an action-oriented urban fantasy with a strong female lead (one of my guilty pleasures). I loved it.

With the holidays, this one took me a while to read, but it was one of those I wished I didn't have to put down. The heroine, Jaz, and her love interest, Vayl, are pretty well developed in this first book and I look forward to some of the other side characters like family members, co-workers and friends being fleshed out a bit more throughout the series. Author Jennifer Rardin debuted this series well with Orbit Books. They immediately booked her for two more in the series and she has since published a total of 7 in this series.

The action and character development progress in parallel well, without dropping one or the other for two long. The story progresses well and (sometimes more importantly) ends well, but still leaves you wanting to see what's next for the characters.

I've been known to drop a series or two after the first book if I don't truly enjoy it, but this will not be one of them. This urban fantasy series fits the bill for those who love characters like Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake and Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan.

Happy reading!

PS: Looking for a virtual book club? Check out Life as Mom's, I'll be joining in.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

In my ereader now...

I have Jennifer Rardin's Jaz Parks series. Book one, Once Bitten, Twice Shy published by Orbit Books has been in my ereader for a while now (the holidays slowed me down). The series is an urban fantasy set in the vein of Kim Harrison's The Hollows series, Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake and Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. The superbad heroine, policesque protagonist who has some sort of supernatural powers or connections.

These books are short ones (about 150 pages) so the series should go fast. So far, it's action packed and filled with vampires, soul-eaters and mysterious humans.

Also, be sure to check out Lifeasmom's Booking it in 2011 project.

Site Launch

Welcome to I'm an ereading junkie! I will be letting you in on what's burning up my ereader this week as well as what's in the "hopper" for the upcoming weeks and months. I read a variety of thrillers, crime novels, fantasy and urban fantasy but I'm open to just about anything!

~Platypus