recent reads

[glass_icarus]

+ The Pale Horse, Agatha Christie
+ War Dances, Sherman Alexie: I enjoyed Alexie's writing a lot, but I suspect I'm missing the point of some of these short stories? Maybe worth rereading when my brain is actually on.
+ The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood: I generally like retold myths and fairytales, but how something with so entertaining a premise can turn out so fluffily disappointing, idek. I liked the narrative voices, too! (Quick, someone point me to a fanfic that does it better. :P)
+ Postern of Fate, Agatha Christie: Usually I have little individual commentary on Agatha Christie, but this was the first book of hers that made me go meh.
+ Lady of Quality, Georgette Heyer: Much more entertaining than April Lady, but didn't make me breathless with glee the way The Grand Sophy did. (I misjudged my reading order- Sophy is a high bar to set!)
+ They Came to Baghdad, Agatha Christie
+ Devil's Cub, Georgette Heyer: So far it appears I enjoy Heyer best when she writes epic clashes of stubborn, ahaha. Mary Challoner vs. Vidal is hilarious!
+ Saints Astray, Jacqueline Carey: Finally picked this up! It was a fun read, but as a sequel to Santa Olivia I thought it was kind of odd? I dunno, SECRET AGENT BODYGUARD GIRLFRIENDS' WORLD-CHANGING WORLD TOUR! wasn't where I thought this dystopic setup was going. I did enjoy Pilar's process of growing into herself, though.
+ Kamisama Kiss/Kamisama Hajimemashita, v. 10-13: Still ridiculous, still hilarious, Nanami and Tomoe are still my favorites.

In other news: Kuroko babble and/or prompts would still be appreciated! Or any prompts, really.

Comments

[musesfool]

The Penelopiad is a serious case of great idea, poor execution. It should have been so much better than it was.

Devil's Cub is my favorite Heyer. I imprinted on it young, and now I love it whenever a heroine shoots the hero when he's being a dick.

[glass_icarus]

Great ideas + poor execution = EPIC SADFACE, seriously! D:

Ahahaha, that was one of my favorite scenes too! I also particularly liked the basin thing- enforced sea voyage? DEAL WITH CONSEQUENCES. xD

[crossedwires]

Re Devil's Cub: YES. Loretta Chase did that also in one of her books, though the title escapes me now.

[glass_icarus]

Hm, I haven't read any Loretta Chase... should I pick something up? :)

[crossedwires]

Maybe! :D? Chase is kind of hit-and-miss for me; plus I read a lot of her stuff when I was a teenager and I'm not sure what would hold up now. Some of her books gets a little too 'exotic others' and 'yay colonialism' -- I would NOT rec Don't Tempt Me, Mr Impossible, um possibly some others.

But ones I remember liking:

Lord of Scoundrels is the one where the heroine shoots the hero. :D
The Last Hellion -- Lydia is an activist. I don't actually remember the hero that well. Heh.
Silk is for Seduction -- Marcelline Noirot is an ambitious dressmaker. The hero is a duke. I'm not actually sure this would work in RL, but lalala romanceland! I recall liking the heroine. I tend to like Chase's female characters, so there's that.

[glass_icarus]

Thanks for these! I'll have a look around next time I go to the library, I think. :)

[st_aurafina]

I dunno, SECRET AGENT BODYGUARD GIRLFRIENDS' WORLD-CHANGING WORLD TOUR!

Yes! Saints Astray just totally grabbed the wheel and pulled it onto another road. It was good fun, but it was definitely not the sequel I was expecting. More like she wrote an AU fanfic of her own characters.

[glass_icarus]

More like she wrote an AU fanfic of her own characters-- that's exactly what it reads like!