Inkblots

I'm soooo happy, this october, the re-written Masques will finally come out! Although the story is going to be the same (I loved all the characters and the plot), there are some changes which I think will be for the better.

There were some abupt POV changes in the book, from Aralorn to Wolf in one scene which sometimes made for confusing reading. and of course something that most authors with lots of books under their belt never do anymore. So I think she might have fixed these errors.

Anothing thing she fixed is that a lot of Wolf and Aralorn's past is told from backstory and there are new scenes and an entirely new perspective on it.

Not to mention that the original Masques has been out of print for some time now, and in November the sequel, Wolfbane will be out, so a good refresher would be to buy it. I am SOOO happy that my father is going to be in the US this october (and me too if I get my VISA), so that I could get this book!

I can't hold my excitement.

Here's a sample chapter from Patricia Brigg's site ( I hold this mask on my face... )

If the other books on the Riley Jenson series got a 2, this one gets a half star. I barely even read it. Okay, I read it, but I half skimmed it, finishing it in one hour. It probably has to do with the fact that the most interesting things in the series were not in the book namely psycho guardian Vampire and extremely old masochist vampire who keeps coming back for Riley.

Even the entire mystery/investigation the directorate was after in this particular book was half-assed. They had TWO investigations going on, unlike the other books where there was one investigation which was streamlined into an entire story arc.

This book seemed like an attempt to introduce more potential men into Riley's bed (which thankfully, hasn't happened yet. She has kept to the 'three men' rule ... or the author has anyway... in which there are only three significant men in one book and all the rest are one night stands...) and eliminate some of them.

( Spoilers on issues on the clicky )

OK... hmmm... juxtaposing this to the fever series, You Slay Me is less dark. And less well-written. It also shows a female lead (set in the first character perspective) transported to a different country, this time France instead of Ireland, where she has to investigate a murder. (It's mostly murders + romance + paranormals these days. They're reminding me of Philippine cinema) anyway... where she finds out she's actually a Guardian and a wyvern's mate. Unfortunately, You Slay Me's only plus factor for me are the shifters, (which barely come into play anyway) and the comedy. It was just too idiotically funny for words.

There was too much info dumping on the heroine as she wandered around lost in Paris. Like the Fever series, Aisling (I can't get over this, isn't this a guy's name? An Irish mother would name her son Aisling, not her daughter), is also new to the paranormal. But unlike Mac, she has a backround on demonology becuase it's her past time, and she reads it. Other than that, she's largely clue-less.

Thus the info dumping. I can't imagine a girl, a supposed guardian, wandering around Paris, looking for information and stumbling upon people who have extremely lose tongues about it. Magic practicioners seem to be a closed mouthed group to me, even with people who are of their 'kind' hence the entire mystifying process of finding Aisling walking around and finding two people openly telling her abour things they think she should already know.

(You could guage how irritated I am with a book the faster I write a blog about it. I started opening my laptop a few pages into the first chapter, unlike the Fever series, which I had finished in its entirety before writing.)

I also don't like the heroine Aisling, she's petty, childish, she lacks brains and has the vocabulary of a thirteen year old. And she vacillates between statements that make her sound like a believer of the paranormal and a non-believer. EARLY on in the book where she's supposedly firmly on the non-believer side. She also changed her views in all of four chapters. Without me understanding how she went through the thought process of: that's impossible, that may not be impossible, oh my god my reality wasn't really whole. argh

I have to admit though that her annoyance with Jim the demon dog sidekick is actually entertaining. (I am happy that an annoyhance is fully annoyed with someone. Ha.) And his "woof" and "bow wow" had me laughing.

Once you get around to finally thinking instead of being annoyed, the murderer in this tale seems pretty predictable (I say seem since I haven't reached the part that confirms my suspicions yet). OK, it's been confirmed. The murderer was easy to spot and the way the person misguided Aisling is just so obvious. There is a slight twist in that that I didn't actually forsee, but that was because of Aisling's lack of information about the world she infiltrated. I find h

I think I'm reading the second book, just to prove how annoying Aisling is. She gets into situations which are hilarious, extremely unlucky and ten shades of idiotic. Aisling is so dumb that there was a point in the story which I REALLY didn't want to see Drake's, green wyvern, reaction to her actions. I don't even understand how of all people in the world, Drake would end up with HER as a mate. It's absolutely disgusting. I want to strangle her in his behalf sometimes... make that most of the time.

Even though it's a series, you can pretty much finish with one book. I might be happier if I finish with one book, but I have to admit, the character situations are funny, and if I ignore the girl, I can settle for Jim and Drake watching. Pity Drake appears rarely and far between. Sort of like Japh in the Devil's right hand of the Dante Valentine series. But that's a completely different thing.

In book 2 I had hopes that she seemed to be less childish and less idiotic (although ... gah... she had the most annoying ability to prove me wrong when I think she's changed and another annoying ability to be hurt when there's no issue). She kind of reminds me of a less irritating Dante in Lilith Saintcrowe's Dante Valentine series. She's also less idiotic in the second book, although where she suddenly picked up wits, I don't know.

I take it back. I am equally enamored in the Mercy Thompson series as I am with her Hurog and Raven and Sianim stuff.

I almost cried four times when I read this book. Maybe it helps that, unlike Princess Meredith, Mercy isn't turning out to be a six to one girl.

It's a mystery, (I can't remember if the first two books were a mystery or not, but I know the first book were warewolves and the next were vampires so maybe they were), and I like the pack dynamics, and the fact that Mercy isn't well loved by everybody. Maybe what I love about this book is that though Mercy has qualities to be irritating, she's equally determined not to be ruled and she stands up for everything. OH... and this book deals with the fae. And unlike Hamilton's take of sex and violent torture, these feel more like the original faery tales. (You know, burn your eyes out, eat little children type of fae).

I don't have enough things to say about this book. (or the series... I really want to... but arg.) I'm off to read Sunny first then off to retire and read more medicine

Some rants against Mona Lisa Craving.

Arg. I hate the fact that Sunny is using the words "demon dead". I hate the fact that Sunny is saying that Mona Lisa won't have an afterlife in Hell as Demon Dead (yes, Jenelle doesn't have that choice either becuase she is Witch and she burns more fully and goes into the darkness.)

And therefore I am putting off READING her poor excuse of creativity and dumping it until tomorrow when I can laugh about it.