Special thanks to Leontine from Leontine's Book Realm for the super header.


Thursday, November 4, 2010

Reading Updates

I think I read most of these before I went on vacation, but I did finish a couple there as well.

Treasured by Cary Z. (33 pages)
Pink Petal Books

Danny is a Ph.D. student who works in a museum, in a world where things like shifters, magic spells for security and other small paranormal events are everyday. He is startled by super hot British guy Rhys (Reece). He knows Reece is a shifter but is unsure what kind. Reese asks him out for dinner and before they know it they are in bed together and Danny’s a bit shocked that a guy like Reese would go for a nerd like him. Suddenly he’s arrested for robbing his own museum and he’s not sure who or what Reese is and if he was only a means to an end for the man. It was a cute little story with a bit of mystery and just a touch of the paranormal which made it a bit different. I was a bit surprised that he didn’t turn in Reese as they’d only been together a day and he is an antiquities scholar who you’d think feels pretty strongly about stealing artifacts. I’m not sure what the ending means exactly. It’s kind of a HFN and I’m not sure it’s sustainable in real life but I did enjoy both characters even if they are bit of a cliché.

Inhabiting the Night by Carolina Valdez (98 pages)
Amber Allure

Martin is a white tiger shifter living in California of Native American parents. One night he rescued someone being beaten and nearly raped by some local thugs. Trent, the rescuee, is a cop recovering from an injury, who is searching for his twin brother who went missing a few weeks ago. Martin offers to help him by introducing him to people who may have seen his brother. They are very attracted and things are going along when a crisis one night with a bear means that Trent is exposed to shifters and vampires when he never knew they existed. On the whole I enjoyed it but I had a few niggles. Why Martin allowed Trent to go with him to help the bear thus exposing the shifters, I have no clue. He said “Stay here.” but when Trent said “No, I’ll go too.” He just said “okay”. He didn’t try very hard and when Trent does find his brother, he acts like he’s all cool with vampires and shifters and hey, I’ll quit my job and move here with you guys. Life’s good. Huh? It all just felt a little too easy everything wrapped up in a few hours with a pretty bow. On another totally cultural thing, Martin and some of the other shifters are referred to as Indians; Martin refers to himself as an Indian. In Canada that’s pretty much like using the n-word. It makes me cringe. They are called Aboriginal or First Nations or maybe Native Americans up here, so when I read books which use the term, even in a context which may be totally appropriate, it makes me uncomfortable. But I know this is a case of my feelings about a word and not the author’s usage, as I know that is much more common term in the US.

On the Ragged Edge of the World by Jamie Craig (243 pages)
Amber Allure

This is the sequel to Trick of Silver. Aden and Darren are living happily in the weeks following their getting together, when Darren gets a call from an old colleague to meet. She tells him there is some kind of power play going down amongst the shifters in DC, meanwhile Darren and Aden find out an ex-lover who betrayed the pack and nearly got him killed, has been inviting powerful people to parties. Finally Aden agrees to let Darren get some information using the help of his colleague. Seems the ex is creating new wolves and trying to stir up trouble and is determined that Aden will go down. They have to work to stop him after he kills one of Aden’s pack and kidnaps another. It’s quite the action packed sequel with Darren fighting for his place in the pack (literally) and Aden having to admit that he’s not infallible and that he’s making decisions based on emotion rather than logic and lots of political maneuvering within the packs. The smexin’ in these books is very aggressive and raw with a D/s edge to it and they don’t waste a lot of money on lube. LOL I did enjoy both books though and if you’re in the mood for something a bit edgier and violent it’s a good choice.

15 comments:

Average Reader said...

Hi, Tam! It's good to have you back, doing your reviews. These three all sound good. This here is very interesting:

Martin refers to himself as an Indian. In Canada that’s pretty much like using the n-word.

I'd have to agree with you. I'm not sure if here in the southwest, that term is quite as strong as the n-word (i.e., worst term ever), but it's definitely not a preferred term. Anyone using it is either going to sound like they're stuck in the 1950s and/or picking a fight. It's an outdated, insulting term.

Tam said...

I agree Val, not QUITE like the n-word and I have heard comedians use it to refer to themselves much like African American comics do, but it's funny how a word that may be "normal" in some places (this was set in California so not sure) can make us feel so uncomfortable. The ending felt rushed on that one, but I enjoyed the other two.

wren boudreau said...

Of this group, I've only read the Jamie Craig book, which I liked very much. Not going to rush out for the others, though!

Tam said...

Probably a good choice for you Wren. I liked the first one although was a bit baffled by the ending and he second was okay, but not a fave even with a lovely tiger on the cover.

Jenre said...

I really liked Treasured and thought the ending was supposed to be a HFN - let's go to Venice and see how things work out between us - type thing.

Haven't read the others, but I'm being a bit meh about shifter books at the moment (yes, I know Rhys was a shifter, but that wasn't the real focus of the story so it didn't count :P) so it's unlikely I'm going to go out and get them.

Chris said...

There was controversy here about 15 years ago over the word, because the treaties are all written using it. Some Native Americans didn't want to abandon being called Indians because they were afraid that would be used to eventually invalidate the treaties...

Tam said...

Definitely HFN Jen, I was okay with that, I was just surprised by Danny's reaction once he knew what Reese had done, given that he'd known him less than 48 hours. Ah, hormones. :-)

I go through phases where I like shifters and then I'm off them for awhile.

Tam said...

Amazingly we still have the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Chris, but that's the only time I hear the word used. The First Nations definitely don't. Their Leader is the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. I guess it's just one of those things that change over time.

Lily said...

I really liked On the Ragged Edge but haven't read the other two. They sound okay but with so many others to read I'll pass on them for now.

Tam said...

I know what you mean Lily. Sometimes "okay" books just don't make the cut when you've already got a lot of books waiting for your attention.

Janna said...

It appears you were on a little shifter binge, Tam. :)
I want to read the Jamie Craig book(s). Turns out that I have the Ragged Edge one but not Trick of Silver - how silly. Can I read the second book without the first or should I go get Trick of Silver too?

Tam said...

The only thing Trick of Silver does is give you the story of how they met and a bit about the organization that Darren worked for. The conflict in the first one is more or less solved, moving onto a new conflict in the second book. You can certainly read the second one and still understand it, there just may be small things you wonder what they are talking about. Or you could read the second and then if you want to know more get the first.

Janna said...

Thanks Tam, I'll do that than. :)

Stephani Hecht said...

My granny was Cree and she would always refer to herself as Indian. However, that was over fifteen years ago (she passed away at that time) and she was over 100 years old. She was born in 1892 and later moved to America. It was like pulling teeth to get her to talk about her childhood, since she faced horrible discrimination and didn't have many happy memories. Until the day she died, she always felt others didn't like her because of her "dark hair and skin".

Tam said...

I imagine the discrimination was horrible back then Stephani. It still happens of course. In parts of Canada the aborignals tend to be poor, less well educated and there are often substance abuse problems which lead to discrimination still. To live to be over 100 means you've got some good genes going for you. You were lucky to know her so long.