tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post1466130402560386237..comments2023-10-25T04:17:22.699-04:00Comments on Fantasy Cafe: Review of Wicked LovelyKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01700004253248186101noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-79244253541816237652009-04-27T19:46:00.000-04:002009-04-27T19:46:00.000-04:00Thea - Ok, I'll leave Guilty Pleasures on the list...Thea - Ok, I'll leave <I>Guilty Pleasures</I> on the list and if I like it I'll just read up to the point where LKH was replaced by the sex-starved android. I almost ordered it once since it was $3 or $4 but I chickened out (especially because I was already buying too much since I was getting several cheap books).Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01700004253248186101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-24766253249110530672009-04-27T02:51:00.000-04:002009-04-27T02:51:00.000-04:00Jessica and Kristen - Do give early LKH a try! Aro...Jessica and Kristen - Do give early LKH a try! Around Anita Blake 6-8ish it begins sliding into bad bad porno territory, but the early books in the series are awesome. Pulp noir, classic Urban Fantasy with great action, and no sex to speak of. It's bizarre really. It's like some sex-starved android replaced LKH. There's a huge disconnect between her early books (=awesome) and her later books (=terrible writing + bad porn). <br /><br />I was hesitant to try <I>Guilty Pleasures</I> too, since I'd heard all the anti-Anita Blake talk, but I really truly love the first books in the series :)Theahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11138984974139025278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-7084712029575097342009-04-26T21:54:00.000-04:002009-04-26T21:54:00.000-04:00Thea - This was a first novel and there were a few...Thea - This was a first novel and there were a few parts that seemed promising so maybe I should give <I>Ink Exchange</I> a chance at some point. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was a big improvement, and darker and morally ambiguous sounds closer to my taste. Maybe if I ever run out of books I want to read (ha!) I'll get the next one, but I won't be in any hurry to buy it. You have made me curious about whether or not I'd like that one a lot better, though.<br /><br />And thanks for the info on Merry Gentry. Sounds like a good one to pass on, especially because I'm already a bit hesitant to try <I>Guilty Pleasures</I> with what I've heard about the later books in the series. I like trying new authors, though, so it is on the list in case I ever get brave enough to try it.<br /><br />Jessica - Oh my, audio books are extremely expensive so that's not good that you have to force yourself to finish it. I got one of those Amazon "we recommend you buy this" emails yesterday and I nearly died when I saw the price - turned out it was an audio book. <br /><br />Looking forward to your review, though. I had heard that many of Laurel K. Hamilton's books were basically porn but had thought at least the first few Merry Gentry books, like the Anita Blake ones, started out as actual stories with plot other than tons of explicitly pornographic sexcapades.Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01700004253248186101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-35667436994722360972009-04-26T19:32:00.000-04:002009-04-26T19:32:00.000-04:00Ana -- Maybe I'll try Ink Exchange. I really liked...Ana -- Maybe I'll try Ink Exchange. I really liked Marr's voice as well.<br /><br /><br />Kristen -- I have never read a Laurell K. Hamilton, before I started with the audiobook of A Kiss of Shadows. I am forcing myself to finish (audiobooks are darn expensive) but it's not to my taste, although I do like a few things about it. I will be writing a review later this week.<br /><br />I will say this: if you know anyone who needs a cure for their porn addiction, have them read this book. It has to be the biggest set of disgusting explicit turnoffs in one volume I have ever encountered.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-5061140335701800792009-04-26T19:02:00.000-04:002009-04-26T19:02:00.000-04:00Aw, I'm sorry that Wicked Lovely didn't work for y...Aw, I'm sorry that <I>Wicked Lovely</I> didn't work for you, Kristen! But as always, excellent review. I can understand your feelings and why the characters didn't click for you. To be fair, I agree that Seth was totally one-dimensional in this book, and there were some rather annoying/disbelief issues with Ash as well. But what can I say, I'm a sucker for Melissa Marr's writing style. To each their own, right?<br /><br />On Merry Gentry...I'm not a huge fan. It's like all the stuff I hated about the later Anita Blake books rolled up into a new character. Of course, that's just me. If you want to read LKH, I'd recommend starting with Anita Blake (<I>Guilty Pleasures</I>) - it's the granddaddy of female-protag-1st person POV Urban Fantasy that started it all. And it's an awesome series up until around book 6 or so.<br /><br />I have to agree with Orannia - <I>Ink Exchange</I> I felt was light years better than <I>WL</I>, and if you ever feel the itch to try Marr again, I'd recommend it. Much darker, better characters (it focuses on a different set of leads), far more morally ambiguous ;)Theahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11138984974139025278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-4640421076608470182009-04-26T17:36:00.000-04:002009-04-26T17:36:00.000-04:00Orannia - I read Ana and Thea's review of Fragile ...Orannia - I read Ana and Thea's review of <I>Fragile Eternity</I> as well (it was up the day after I finished <I>Wicked Lovely</I>). It seems Seth isn't as easygoing as he appeared in this book, which is good. The man needs some sort of backbone!<br /><br />I know the feeling, my book list is constantly expanding too. Elizabeth Bear's Promethean Age books are very good (at least I think so). There are two sets of duologies that take place in that world and either can be read first.<br /><br />The first set (published, not chronologically) starts with <I>Blood and Iron</I>, which is followed by <I>Whiskey and Water</I>. It takes place in modern times and is very dark and heavy on mythology.<br /><br />The second set takes place during the time of Shakespeare and features both him and Christopher Marlowe, as well as many other historical figures from the time. It has more focus on literature and history than the other set, although this one is also about faery so there's plenty of mythology too. The book to start with in this set is <I>Ink and Steel</I>, and the next one is <I>Hell and Earth</I>. Together they're known as The Stratford Man (since they were originally intended to be just one book but got too long for that).<br /><br />If you wanted to read them, I'd start with whichever sounds like a more interesting time period and focus to you. The Stratford Man was a newer work by her and the fact that she has more writing experience shows but <I>Blood and Iron</I> is my favorite (although I thought its sequel was the weakest of the bunch).<br /><br />Or if you wanted to read a book by Elizabeth Bear, you could start with the novel she co-wrote with her friend Sarah Monette, <I>A Companion to Wolves</I>. :) Actually, Sarah Monette does still have one writing contract with Elizabeth Bear since they are contracted to write the sequel to this book.<br /><br />Reviews on aforementioned books:<br /><A HREF="http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/06/review-of-blood-and-iron.html" REL="nofollow">Blood and Iron</A><BR><A HREF="http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/07/review-of-companion-to-wolves.html" REL="nofollow">A Companion to Wolves</A><BR><A HREF="http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/10/review-of-stratford-man-ink-and-steel.html" REL="nofollow">The Stratford Man</A>[Deleting previous comment and reformatting because it did not show up the same way it did in preview once posted]Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01700004253248186101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-28834340342610112822009-04-26T16:17:00.000-04:002009-04-26T16:17:00.000-04:00Thank you Kristen! I haven't read Fragile Eter...Thank you Kristen! I haven't read Fragile Eternity yet (although I've read Ana & Thea's review), but it is a direct sequel to Wicked Lovely (WL) and from Seth's POV.<br /><br />As for dark, that's Ink Exchange (IE), the second Melissa Marr book. I know a number of people found it depressing rather than dark, but for me it was definitely the latter. I picked up a lot more of the nuances in IE than WL.<br /><br /><I>...Elizabeth Bear's Promethean Age series</I>No, you can't tempt me with more books! ....are they good?oranniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14007355589161084262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-81815589470513865692009-04-26T15:36:00.000-04:002009-04-26T15:36:00.000-04:00Ana - Great saying! If we all liked the same book...Ana - Great saying! If we all liked the same books for all the same reasons it would be rather boring. And what would we do if everyone liked the same books, making all these reviews we write pointless? ;)Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01700004253248186101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-2576816427463443422009-04-26T15:01:00.000-04:002009-04-26T15:01:00.000-04:00Great review Kristen, interesting points you make....Great review Kristen, interesting points you make. <br /><br />I have such a passion for these books, from the first page of Wicked Lovely, I fell in love with the writing and I actually think all characters have depth - Seth less than anyone else but that is fixed when we get his pov in Fragile Eternity.<br /><br />But hey what would happen to "blue" if everybody liked "yellow" << That's a Brazilian saying. : DAnahttp://thebooksmugglers.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-50981848544841575632009-04-26T14:55:00.000-04:002009-04-26T14:55:00.000-04:00Jessica - I may have had the same experience with ...Jessica - I may have had the same experience with expectations as you did but in reverse - I expected to love <I>Wicked Lovely</I>. So when the characterization was lackluster and nothing about it stood out as different or special, I ended up very disappointed. Perhaps I would have been more lenient on it if I were not looking forward to it so much.<br /><br />How is the first Merry Gentry book? I haven't read anything in that series (or by Laurell K. Hamilton).Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01700004253248186101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-46709678192279740112009-04-26T09:16:00.000-04:002009-04-26T09:16:00.000-04:00Great review. As you know, I did like it quite a b...Great review. As you know, I did like it quite a bit. But I think expectations going in have a lot to do with the end review: b/c it was a YA, I expected to hate it!<br /><br />I agree that Aislann's ability to hide herself all those years required suspension of disbelief. <br /><br />I also agree that the characterizations of pretty much everyone except Donia were not super compelling.<br /><br />I guess for me the worldbuilding and suspense carried the day. I also haven't read much at all in fantasy (although coincidentally I am listening to Laurell K. Hamilton's first Merry Gentry book which is also an "urban faery"), so I think my standards are much lower.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com