Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022
Book Talk
For the first time in a while, I bought all the available books in a series up front. I got the audio version of Darynda Jones’s Betwixt and Between paranormal series. It’s women’s fiction, but it fits in a lot of categories. I’m enjoying it. I’m on book 2, Bewitched, and what I’m liking so far is:
- Heroine is in her 40’s. An older heroine if a refreshing change sometimes.
- She’s a witch! I love witch characters when it makes sense. A few things are a stretch to me, but the story is cute enough for me to suspend disbelief.
- The love interest has an interesting backstory tied to her magic.
- Her grandparents are meddling and one of them is creatively tied to the house she’s living in.
- I originally had mixed feelings about her “dads” in the beginning it felt like the author was checking off a political correctness box. But they are growing on as their characters develop so I may be wrong about my original reaction. If this opinion is somehow offensive to someone…whatever. Yesterday I was offended by the woman who drove 30 MPH in a 50MPH zone, and yet I survived
- There’s a cat named Ink. And he loves pizza.
This isn’t one of those books I can’t stop listening too, but it’s been really good for a bunch of driving I’ve had to do
So that’s my reading (or listening), what are you all reading?
February 23rd, 2022 at 8:37 am · Link
I loved Darynda’s Charley Davidson series up until like book 11? 12? Then they sort of fell off the rails. I love her “new” Sunshine Vickram series but they release once a year so it’s a long stretch between fixes. I haven’t tried her Betwixt series yet. Not sure why. Maybe I will.
And yeah, I TOTALLY get what you mean about checking off the PC boxes. That irritates me to no end–as both a reader AND a writer. And it happens way more than people think.
Me? I’ve been in a listening slump. The last two In Death books (relistened for the new release to refresh my memory on where things stand in Eve and Roarke land) and I almost DNF’d them due to the politics. I’ve been ambivalent about the current book. I finally boosted it to 1.2X on narration speed to make things go faster. It’s not a bad book and I love the narrator but between the linger anger over that last two and this one being just…another case (IMO), it’s a struggle. Not sure where I’ll go next. A new Michelle Sagara book just dropped. I enjoyed her Chronicles of Elantra series, again up to a point and then I just couldn’t go on. She’s since introduced a new series set in the same world focusing on an important secondary character from the original series, one I liked a lot. The first book was set in a time before and between events in the other series. I enjoyed the first one and autobought the second. We’ll see.
For whatever reason, I am totally behind on my yearly reading challenge. Not sure if it’s me or the books.
Totally thrllled you found a series you’re enjoying. I may have to give that one a closer look!
Happy reading, all! 💖📚
February 23rd, 2022 at 3:49 pm · Link
I’ve been a fan of Darynda for so many years. I think I picked up her 1st YA (DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR) and 1st Charley book (FIRST GRAVE FROM THE RIGHT) at the same time in 2012. I loved them. She writes with good humor. I’ve also enjoyed the Sunshine and Betwixt books. They’re fluff and enjoyable.
I’ve been reading quiet a bit of political books lately. I am also going to start Cynthia Eden’s release from yesterday CROSS MY HEART.
Monday morning when hubs turned on the ellipse it broke. So we’ve been three days so far with no workout and are like caged bears. The repair guy was here yesterday and it’s massive. The brake assembly (drives the machine) is broke and so is the electronics motor. It should all be covered under warranty but G & G Fitness hasn’t called me yet to set up sending the parts out and setting up the install. Usually they call first thing the next morning. If they get the parts ordered ASAP, at the earliest, it’s still 7 to 10 days before being fixed :(. It’s always something to keep us on our toes.
More ice and snow are due tomorrow late day into Friday. It’s been a crazy beginning to the year.
I hope you have a great afternoon!
February 23rd, 2022 at 5:28 pm · Link
Silver, well you lasted longer than me on the Charley Davidson series
I read the first one and thought it was okay while everyone I knew absolutely loved it. I was sad for me, LOL. I wonder if I’d love it more now? Sometimes it’s about where we are in our life.
Yep the PC thing is annoying when it’s intentional. I don’t mind at all when it’s story (character or plot) driven.
I’ve gotten so bored with Roarke and Eve. For me, it’s not politics, it’s just stale. I’m so tired of the nightmares and other plot devices. But I’m betting others love it like chocolate, so to each his own.
The slumps suck! I get it. I switch to podcasts, usually crime podcasts or something else that interests me in the moment. For instance, I followed the Theranos (Elizabeth Holmes) trial. I’ve always been interested in cults and psychology so stumble onto podcasts about those. I do all this through YouTube cause it works for me. It helps me sort of reset before going back into books again. I don’t know if that will help you though this slump. Even changing genres might help?
I don’t think it’s you. There’s a lot of undercurrents going on these days that’s making it hard to just write a story or read a story without feeling either attacked or lectured. There was a time when story could be an elegant teacher, but not I’m seeing writers wield it like a sledge hammer. It’s sad to me. Elegance and subtly are, to me, the art of story. But I’ll stop now!
I hope you find a book that sucks you into its world and holds you hostage until you never want to leave!
February 23rd, 2022 at 5:37 pm · Link
Viki, I’m so glad you love Darynda! I know so many people who feel in love with her Charley Davidson series! I agree, her humor is a breath of fresh air.
I limit my political reading or I get too…let’s say passionate, LOL. You may have better self control than me
I know you’re a long time Cynthia Eden fan. She’s so nice!
My only experience with Ellipse is from my decades at the gymj, and it seemed they break easy and often. That said, they’re my favorite machine and I’ve thought about getting one. i’m so glad it’s under warranty but dang, it’s taking a long time to fix! For people who don’t work out, it may not sound like much time, but it’s really annoying when you do it regularly. I am much happier when I do some form of exercise, even a walk. Hope you hear back soon and they can get the machine fix pronto!
We’re having cold weather, rain and snow here. Well the snow isn’t at my house, but it’s pretty close
Wizard is hoping we’ll get a little dusting overnight, but I think the storm will move out before the temp falls enough. we’ll see!
Hope your week is going well despite the ellipse breaking, and you guys don’t have any problems from the next storm!
February 23rd, 2022 at 7:34 pm · Link
I’ve never read any of her books… I think. It sounds like they’re a good listen for you while you’re driving.
Sadly, I haven’t read anything in over a month, except my own manuscript. Every day but one, I’ve ever been reading it and making notes or reading it while I enter the notes and make the changes needed. Good thing I enjoy the story, eh? LOL Maybe soon I’ll be able to pick up some other person’s writing. :fingers crossed:
February 24th, 2022 at 12:01 pm · Link
B.E., you might enjoy her. She’s light and fun.
It’s hard to read other people’s work when you’re editing. For one thing, our brain is set on edit and we tear apart every sentence by sheer habit. It ruins the fun for me. But you’re making progress on your books! And yeah, it’s a good thing you enjoy the story