It's Halloween weekend here which of course in North America is a big deal. My daughter has a party tonight, but not a costume party. They are doing that the weekend AFTER Halloween. Whatever. They all have to leave the party today at 11:00 and my party animal wants to go somewhere else and was having issues getting commitment so I said they could come back here. So I may have a few kids over late tonight. Not that many I imagine. At this age there is lots of talk and usually not much action. At least we aren't getting snow like many in the US, so I'm not complaining.
So here are two of the books I've read.
Torquere Press
Galen is a young village man hiding his sexuality and finds his friend has taken on a baby of a young unwed woman from another village. However if the village believes it to be hers, she'll be banished or the baby will be sold to traders. When Galen is betrayed by his village crush so that he is banished (with the babe) allowing his evil uncle to inherit his land, Galen runs for it, being told that the babe will keep him safe from the wolves in the forest and he can seek shelter with the Forest Lord. Oh he finds the forest lord, and all those stories about wolf creatures, all true. The villagers banished haven't been eaten, they've been living happily with the werewolves and mating and babies aren't sold (usually half-breeds), they are brought to be raised. Everyone in the forest is trying to steer Eric, the Lord, towards Galen who is his mate, but both he and Galen aren't quite on board with that, despite the smoking' hot sex that turned Galen into a wolf. Okay, first off, this is not a story to be taken seriously. Eden said she wrote it a bit tongue in cheek and I found myself smiling all along the way. Neither Galen nor Erik are that bright. They aren't stupid, they just aren't very swift. I imagined lots of eye-rolling as their advisers waited for them to "get it" sometimes. The wolf villagers are all hilarious, the pregnant women everyone are terrified to cross, the aunt with the super hairy legs, Galen teaching the wolves how to be civilized, it's all done with a bit of a wink and a nudge and I was quite annoyed when I had to go to work and stop reading just as Galen was surrounded by the wolves. So when you are in the mood for something to lift your spirits with that traditional fantasy feel it's a perfect choice, and Eden always writes very appealing characters.
eXtasy Books
Things are going "ok" for Chance with the coalition. He's not getting beaten up but he has no real friends either and although he's crushing on Thomas who is supposed to watch over him, he knows Thomas hates the ravens for causing his brother to be caught in a permanent animal form. However when Dalton decides to befriend him, life gets more interesting, especially when they are attacked in the mall and Chance refuses to shift and heal himself and Thomas realizes that Chance means something. After Chance is accused of trying to hurt Riley (he was trying to keep him from hurting himself) he finally changes and Thomas is fine with it. He then decides that to help Thomas he needs to get the poison that caused the early shifts so that Owen can find the cure. I too am a sucker for the character that no one wants around and is lost and alone. I totally adore Dalton and how he sees things that no one else does in his own bouncy lynx way. I was glad that Thomas was supportive of Chance, sometimes when the prospective mate treats them badly I'm not too keen on them getting together. But it was a nice addition to the series and I still adore Riley and his bipolar problems, that aren't made to be no big deal or a joke. They hurt him and the people who care about him, but they just keep struggling through to find the best solution.
6 comments:
This Halloween is a bit different from our Halloween last year, huh?
I enjoyed Galen, and just realized I have Chance's Vindication but haven't read it yet. D'oh!
Have a great weekend! (No snow here.)
I liked Galen too and laughed several times at Eric's attempts to civilise the wolves :).
This time last year we were gearing up for Yaoicon. I don't think I shall soon forget my first (and possibly only) experience of Halloween in the USA. It's just so different to here in the UK.
It is a very different Halloween. It's so easy to lose books in the massive TBR. You get them and ... before you know it there's 10 in front of them. Sigh. I enjoyed it. Chance was sweet.
There was a lot of humour Jen that made me snort several times.
I think Halloween is quite different now than when I was a kid. Even in the last few year. I'd say 5 years ago we had 1 or 2 places here to buy costumes for your kids. This year there are 5 stores on one street near me alone and 3 of those are open only for the month of October and are Halloween specialty shops. 75% of their stock is for adults. It's crazy. I suppose once retailers realized they could make a buck they quickly found things for us to spend our money on.
I'm afraid in my old age I've gotten less into it. I no longer decorate although we do a jack 'o lanterns. In our neighbourhood that's how you indicate that you are "open for business" when the kids come calling.
Halloween is so NOT a thing here. The shops try to bring it on but it doesn't gets me excited. It feels so American, not Dutch at all.
Just no, so you enjoy. I will enjoy the extra hour of sleep. Wintertime starts tonight.
Party finished at 11?? It sounds kinda early. Parties started at that time when I was young
I remember when I lived in Poland there was Halloween stuff in the stores, but I'm not sure anyone really knew what it was for.
As for the 11:00 end time, the girls parents are Muslim and very strict so I'm surprised they even allowed that late. Seems all of the boys bailed to go to the haunted farm in the country and things are sort of falling apart on the after party, so I think it may all be for naught.
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