Marsh Magic by Robin McKinley 1star -A rather dour story about a Mage who controls the throne of a kingdom for ceI'm only reading a few of the stories;
Marsh Magic by Robin McKinley 1star -A rather dour story about a Mage who controls the throne of a kingdom for centuries by enslaving women from the marshes to bear the kings heir. I found it creepy and even though there is an happy ending of sorts, I still found it depressing. It's written in a distant 3rd person so I felt rather emotionless about it all.
The Price by Patricia Briggs 2stars A cute early work by PB. A twist of Rumpelstiltskin where he isn't such a bad guy. Story didn't have much tension so it falls a bit flat. But I liked it better than 'Marsh Magic'.
Locks by Neil Gaiman 1star This wasn't much of a story. It was an interesting peak into Neil's bedtime stories with his daughter. meh.
Clad in Gossamer by Nancy Kress 2.5starsI really liked this one at first. And it was pretty sly how the author turned the story around. But I found that I didn't want it turned around...
The Wild Heart by Ann Bishop 2.5stars Well I liked this one the best of the ones I read, but I wished for more comeuppance for the villains in the end... like any comeuppance... maybe just a slap? anything? But it's a pretty inventive combination of several fairytales in one. Er rather anti-fairytales I guess.
All in all I found this collection to be pretty threadbare and unsatisfying....more
Well insta-love is the rule in these short stories, but will Carla Kelly doing the telling, it seems entirely plausible.
The Light Within *** 3 stars AWell insta-love is the rule in these short stories, but will Carla Kelly doing the telling, it seems entirely plausible.
The Light Within *** 3 stars A sweet little tale about an American, Quaker widow and an impoverished second son of an Earl. So right away it's interesting because it's not the norm for historical romances. They meet through mistaken identity but right away there's a spark of appreciation between them. The ending is quick but all that was needed for this quick story. My only complaint was that the 'Quaker' language was a little odd. But I guess CK was accurate in that Quaker's clung to an older form of English at the time.
A Hasty Marriage ***** 5 stars Antique virgin?(...the nerve!) This was one of Hiriam Titus' uncharitable thoughts about Ann (32yo) before he met her. But Hiriam is no spring chicken at 40. Then when he first sees her he is struck dumb. His first wife died 6 years ago and they married quite young, so his courting skills are pretty rusty. Ann is a spinster who refuses to marry an idiot her parents insist on. She is just as affected by him but unsure what to do with her interest in a man who will be sailing to another country in a day or two. Luckilly for them war is declared! safety is good (view spoiler)[he hasn't been with a woman since his first wife died. They had married at 17 so he was prob a virgin then. I felt that he loved his first wife but they weren't truly equals. She was too shy and petite. His love for Ann was like a thunder clap. (hide spoiler)]
. Listened to the audiobook, the audio reader Angela Dawe is very good. The 3 stars overall is mostly for the first story.
Echo of Silence (Psy-Changelin. Listened to the audiobook, the audio reader Angela Dawe is very good. The 3 stars overall is mostly for the first story.
Echo of Silence (Psy-Changeling 2.5) **** 4 stars A sweet little star crossed lovers tale with a happy ending. Tazia is a human who risked her family's love for a future outside of her village. Stefan is a Psy telekenetic of huge power. She is drawn to him but to her he seems completely unmoved by her. Then when she needs someone to lean on, he's there for her. They have a month together to learn so much more than they every expected. I just loved this story. The ending was perfect. safety is fine (view spoiler)[they are both virgins. (hide spoiler)]
Dorian (Psy-Changeling 5.5) ** 2 stars Kind of a meandering look at Dorian's life from when he was 10 or so to a mated adult. I think this story would mean more to those who have read the whole series or at least the book where he meets his mate...
Partners of Persuasion (Psy-Changeling 11.5) *** 3 stars Felix the wolf and Desiree the leopard. This story is of their courtship and the careful dance it was to bridge the gap between her dominant and his submissive natures. Even though their natures are so far apart, I wouldn't call them opposites at all. safety is fine
Flirtation of Fate (Psy-Changeling 12.25) * star This one is half the length of the audio book so probably almost 200 pages. Wow, that was surprisingly disappointing! A little ranting below with spoilers: (view spoiler)[ Kenji and Garnet were close while growing up. He's her brother's best friend and 2 years older than her. As she got older they both knew they would be together, and he was to be her date on her 21st birthday. But then he didn't show up and was with a lot of OTHER WOMEN immediately after and for 7 years after that. Everyone knows that Kenji's skin privileges can be had by just about anyone... but Garnet. But he can't just keep his distance, so he teases and flirts with her over the years. Now Garnet hasn't been celibate but I would have liked to hear about Kenji being jealous. There's a tentative OM but it never amounts to anything satisfying as far as evening the tables. The author tries to make Garnet special in that nobody else is allowed to touch Kenji's neck... but WHO the hell cares who touches his neck when he's sticking his dick in anything wet??? The author tries to make him less of a slut by making him celibate for the last year. But seriously, the damage is already done. He's already banged them all anyways! So his excuse for this (which I guessed almost right away) is that he found out on her birthday that he is practically sterile. Sure that sucks. But did you have to be such an asshat about it? Did you have to ruin her youth too? And she's going to be running into these OWs for the rest of her life. Does he apologize for hurting her all those years? NO he bloody well doesn't. Instead Garnet is all consoling about his being sterile. Yes I know that sucks more. But it's like he doesn't even care how much he hurt her feelings. He even laughs when she tries to bring it up because she called the first OW (her nemesis of course!) 'balloon tits Britney'. He has a tattoo that says he loves her in Japanese on his back, but that just wasn't enough. Cause all I can think about was how many other women ran their hands over that tattoo. She does chew him out for not allowing her a part in his decision to keep them apart. She practically had to badger him into agreeing to be her mate. And this was after pretty much chasing him for the last few days. I dunno, am I too petty? Cause I don't think knowing why someone hurt you can actually mitigate the pain. The author was trying to make so that his pain trumps hers. BUT I AM VERY UNSATISFIED. She's so concerned about hurting his feelings and that caring just wasn't reciprocated. I want an epilogue where they run into one of his F* buddies and he can feel shame and know how much he hurt her. I want a god damned grovel equal to 7 years of emotional pain. Is that too much to ask for??? And to top it all off the epilogue is about her sister giving birth right after they finally mate. Cause that's just great to pour salt in the wound. Not even the nicest person on the planet is going to feel all wonderful seeing someone else have a baby just after learning that you never will. Instead of making me feel joyful, the epilogue just made me feel sad for Kenji and Garnet. (hide spoiler)]
There's also a murder mystery that was pretty obvious from the get go too....more
I only read Tom's story; 3 stars Tom is a financial advisor, and Elysia is a wealthy widow who sells couture fashion. Tom and Elysia new each other 6 yeaI only read Tom's story; 3 stars Tom is a financial advisor, and Elysia is a wealthy widow who sells couture fashion. Tom and Elysia new each other 6 years ago when they had a ONS. It did not go well and shortly after Elysia moved away. Now Tom finds that when he moves to Jacobsville, Elysia already lives there too. Awkward coincidence? Hmmmm... They tentatively reacquaint themselves but it doesn't take long for Tom's bad temper to push nasty words out of his mouth. This kinda becomes a habit, his jumping to the wrong conclusions and taking out his unhappiness on her. Of course he learns the truth and also learns that Elysia's little girl looks a lot like him. Now how to convince Elysia to let him into their lives after all the douche bag things he's said to her...
It's a straight forward story but with a bit of a twist with their histories. Elysia's brother plays match maker (as well as a few others) when he explains to Elysia about Tom's background. Now this was the part I was like WTF? If her brother new so much, and new about Elysia's daughter, Crissy, then why the F didn't he mention these pertinent deets sooner??? There's a fair bit of convenient verbal regurgitation from side characters to help the MCs bridge the gap. But I still enjoyed it, and he grovels quite nicely. Both MCs were great (especially Elysia and her spine of steel... well aluminum I guess) but the story was too clunky to be more than 3 stars.
Safety is surprisingly good (view spoiler)[they were both virgins 6 years ago, and there's been nobody for either since then. Both characters were mentally and physically abused as kids but not sexually. (hide spoiler)]...more
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