The Rise of Io by Wesley Chu

3.5 STARS

This book was recommended by a few of the sci-fi/fantasy authors that I follow on Twitter so when it showed up priced at a reasonable price on pre-order, I did just that and pre-ordered it. :)

Were it not for those recs, I would never have picked it up. It sort of sounds like a New Adult type novel, which I dislike a lot. I don't usually read a lot of science fiction, being more of a fantasy afficionado. And the cover doesn't speak to me. *LOL*

But I'm glad I picked it up because it was quite a fun read! I enjoyed the characters, even the bad ones! The plot was full of twists and turns and at one point a little over half the way through, Chu gives the story a hard left turn that left me quite blinkity-eyed. I wasn't sure he could pull it off satisfactorily, but in the end, yes, it did work and it made things rather interesting.

So now I want more about Ella and Io and Cameron and the rest of them! And I have added another author to my list. :) I will have to check out his other works.

Fish Out Of Water by Amy Lane

4 STARS

So one of my faves, Amy Lane, has turned her hand to trying one of my favourite sub-genres, romantic suspense! And the results are pretty damned good!

I love this set of MCs. Jackson is just such a guy! And Ellery is like a sexy... I want to say Felix Unger! *LOL* I like how they mesh together, and how Ellery turns out to be the driving force behind the relationship. He's so... SURE and competent and positive and I really, really liked him. :)

The cast of secondary characters is quite wonderful too. Amy is an excellent creator of unexpected families. Jackson's nextdoor neighbour, Mike, I think is my favourite. Ellery's mom is a very close second. (I saw Christine Baranski in my mind's eye whenever she appeared on the page.)

And for those who are bemoaning that this book isn't as 'sweet' as Amy's usual fare... well of course not! These are MEN, not youths! There were definitely spots of sweetness though, and if those readers didn't catch them, then maybe they need to slow down and actually read the damned book.

And yes, it is the first of a series. (I honestly don't think there's a romance writer out there who is capable of writing standalone novels any more.) And that's good news because I am quite eager to head off 'fishing' once again!

The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu

4 STARS

The Dandelion Dynasty - Book 2

I took a long while to read this one because, not only was it a big read, it was so delicious that I had to savour it, like a beautifully aged single malt.

I found the first half of the book somewhat slow, but the writing is so gorgeous that it really didn't matter. We have moved on to the next generation of characters from those that starred in the first book, Grace of Kings.

Ideas are put forward about culture and war and power and equality that make a person stop and ponder things for a while. It's never as simple as right and wrong, or black and white. The characters are multi-dimensional and all have flaws as well as good qualities and while there were times when I knew exactly what they'd do, there were other times when I was surprised by the paths they took.

And I have to say, I love how small things that happen in the beginning of the book, come back around and end up being something really, really important.

Ken Liu is a wonderful talent and he writes EXCELLENT books! I highly recommend this series if you're looking for something to sink your teeth into, something that tastes fresh and new and different. :) I can't wait for the third book!!

The Andy Cohen Diaries by Andy Cohen

 4 STARS

It truly is a diary. Don't be reading this if you're looking for a cohesive narrative, but you enjoy an entertaining stream of consciousness, then this is your book!

Andy Cohen knows EVERYBODY! And he seems to have an opinion or three on them all.

This was really a very entertaining read, so much so that I'm waiting for his first book, Most Talkative, to go on sale and then I'll pick it up.

How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny

5 STARS

Chief Inspector Gamache - Book 9

How the Light Gets In is, in my humble opinion, the best Inspector Gamache novel yet, hands down.

This is the 9th Gamache book and it seems as if we've been building towards this tale and this climax from the very beginning of the series. Well, I guess it doesn't just seem that way, we actually have.

We have the mystery du jour, which has to do with a set of quintuplets inspired by the famed Dionne Quints. It's interesting and does keep one guessing until late in the book. But I think, far more important, is the way the mystery mirrors what the characters we have come to love (and hate) are going through in the over-arcing - through 9 books - mystery of the Sureté.

My emotions have never been twisted and played so much by a freaking mystery! These characters - man, oh man, I've come to love them so much - they have already gone through so much and in this book, they go through so much more! Whether it be Gamache himself, or his closest team members, Beauvoir and Lacoste, or the denizens of Three Pines ( and yes, thank God, we go back to Three Pines), especially Olivier and Ruth - this volume of the series brings watershed moments for all of them, I think.

There is one scene in the last few chapters, where I actually broke down and sobbed for what was on the page! The love, the hope, the loyalty, the trust... OMG, it was amazing. And of course, on the other hand, we have the hate, the jealousy, the evil, the betrayal and every emotion, the positive and the negative, they're just so damned real!

I don't know where we go from here. I have two more books in my TBR pile and then the latest book, #12 to get and then I'll be all up to date. The author has mentioned though, that she has started the next book, so that's very good news!

I want to mention, as well, while I was reading this book and the previous one, the author has been going through the loss of her beloved husband. My condolences, Louise.

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

5 STARS

Chief Inspector Gamache - Book 8

This 8th book of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache quite honestly broke my heart a little.

Louise Penny doesn't just write mysteries, she writes about human beings. People in all sorts of troubles, with all sorts of flaws, and with both moments of deepest despair and the supreme joy. I guess one could say she writes about the human condition - unless that's too much of a cliché. :)

So for the first time, we do not visit Three Pines. We don't even really get a mention of Three Pines and I think that's by deliberate design. Three Pines is a place of healing and peace, (despite being the per capita murder capitol of Quebec) and there is really not a lot of peace and healing to be found by the end of The Beautiful Mystery.

The murder occurs in a monastery hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec and the only members of the Sureté sent to investigate are Gamache and his second in command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir.

Now, I had thought that since the end of the previous book, A Trick of the Light, things were on the upswing with Gamache and Beauvoir, and the first half of The Beautiful Mystery seemed to bear that out. Then it all goes to hell. The problems of the monastery are reflected in the problems of the Sureté and the problems of Jean-Guy and Armand and I have to say that I finished the last quarter of the book with a palpable feeling of dread. One that did NOT disappear with the closing lines - so I started the next book right away and those that know me, know I don't DO that. *LOL*

I have to say that I didn't completely get all the details of the explanation of the mystery. I didn't matter though, not really, I understood the emotions behind the actions. :)

So, yes, I am on Book 9 (and weeping because I only have 2 more after this and then the new one that just came out) and I can honestly say that I love this series more and more with every book.

Enjoy the Dance by Heidi Cullinan

4 STARS

Dancing - Book 2

I was able to read this early because I am a patron of Heidi's on Paetron.com. :)

Heidi is one of my favourite authors and I was so looking forward to this book, the second book in the Dancing series. The first one, Dance With Me, was the first book of Heidi's that I ever read and I adored it, so I was very eager to read this long-awaited sequel.

The first quarter of Enjoy the Dance was disappointing. (And it kills me to say it.) I felt as if I was reading a series of articles on the GLBQT homeless youth community in Minnesota. I understand that this is a subject very dear to the author's heart and it should be important to all of us, but selfishly, I didn't want to feel lectured while reading about Spenser and Tomas' love story, and that's how I felt during the first quarter of the book while the teenager that brings them together, Duon, got settled. I learned little about any of the characters - and characters that I love are Heidi's strong suit, so this was especially disappointing. I know the author possesses the talent to make her readers aware of all this stuff through the presentation of her characters, but it didn't happen this time, I'm afraid.

But the other three-quarters of the book were WONDERFUL! The characters came to life, the relationships were created and things began to move forward. Spenser, the kindergarten teacher is a lovely character. Calm, sweet, smart, instinctively wise... I liked him an awful lot. The object of his affections, the fellow who lives across the hall, Tomas, is the dancer and some of my favourite scenes have to do with him dancing with Duon and Laurie (one of the MCs from the first book) en pointe.

Spenser and Tomas fall in love easily and quietly and simply, despite all the hurdles they have to overcome - Duon's future with them, marriage equality, immigration problems, prejudice at Spenser's job, Spenser's scars from his youth in the system... my GOD there were alot of them! And I ended up in tears more than a couple of times during the final chapters.

So, despite the near lifeless read of the first quarter of the book, the rest of it picked up most wonderfully and gave me the Heidi read I love so much.

Sims by F. Paul Wilson

4 STARS

Sims was recommended to me by my friend Mike when I expressed an interest in Wilson's latest novel, Panacea, and was going to have to wait because I won't pay $14 for an ebook.

I really enjoyed it! It was a real page turner, I have to say. Part of that was helped by the way that Wilson wrote the book, using mostly small chapters which gives the book a brisk pacing perfect for a thriller.

There were some nice twists and turns in the book, some that I saw coming and some that I didn't. But I think it's okay to see some because then you don't feel like a moron while you're reading. *LOL* I loved the character of Patrick, the lawyer, and I loved the sim Tome. The bad guys were suitably bad and the good guys were suitably good, as should be. I did find myself wondering a bit at the epilogue about what Patrick was actually doing - everyone else important was accounted for and I had to take off a half a star for that.

I wonder why they never made a movie out of this book, it would seem to me to be a perfect property.

So, yup, I really enjoyed my read. :)

Fairs' Point by Melissa Scott

4 STARS

Astreiant - Book 4

From one police procedural to the next, it seems. This one, Fairs' Point is set in the fantasy city of Astreiant and is the fourth in the series starring Nicco Rathe, the cop and Phillip Eslingen, the soldier as they solve the latest mystery to come their way.

The story takes place around the yearly dog races and Phillip actually acquires a young pup. I must say, the scenes between him, the dog and the young dog trainer, Naimi, that he hires to take care of the young racing dog are some of my favourites in the book.

We meet a few of the characters from the three previous books and it is lovely to see them again. I'm especially fond of Sohier, Rathe's co-worker and wished to see more of her.

The politics of Astreiant are twined around the mystery as they have been in previous books, and once again, they leave me confused, but I think all that means is that I can't extrapolate some of the clues that are laid in the mystery, so when the climax comes, I'm more surprised than maybe the average reader. *LOL*

Phillip is still my fave of faves and I'm very glad he and Nicco are settling into their relationship, and are able to solve the bumps that come along the way. They make for a good partnership all around! :)

Hopefully Melissa Scott is working on the next in the series, Point of Sighs, because I need more of this whole cast of characters. I hear hints that it might be about Rathe's friend, Istre b’Estorr, who I quite adore too.

In short, I just need more Astreiant!

Vigilante Season by Peter Kirby

3 STARS

Luc Vanier - Book 2

I enjoyed this second of the Luc Vanier crime novels. While I don't love Luc Vanier in the way that I love Armand Gamache, I do appreciate and enjoy his darker and grittier tales.

Set in Montreal once again, this time focussing on the Hochelaga district, Peter Kirby gets the atmosphere and locale pretty much bang on. And this time, there's quite a bit of despair and darkness swirling around our hero, with the seemingly-hopeless case and the problems in his own personal life. To be honest, while I don't mind gritty and rough, I could have done with a little less doom and gloom. Mind you, there is a dark side to many things Quebecois and Montrealais, so... I guess it makes sense. *LOL*

So, all in all, a good read and one I can recommend if you like gritty police procedurals.