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~Oracle~
by
Katherine Greyle
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Heroine:
average/plump
Jane Deerfield, resident computer expert for Boston University,
spends all of her time working on her machines. It is her
life. Until the fateful Halloween night when she leaves
her workplace to attend a costume party at the precise moment
the city comes under nuclear attack, and is suddenly sucked
through a space-time vortex.
The
young woman awakens to find herself in a strange world where
magic is the norm and technology is a thing of wonder. A
world where Kings are Healers who cherish life, but who can also
deal death with a single stroke of their mighty broadswords in
times of desperation. Stormy, driven Daken of Chigan is
one such leader.
Convinced that Jane
is the prophesied Keeper of Knowledge and can aide him in his
quest to vanquish the Tarveen who raid his lands and slaughter
his people, Daken sets out to seduce peace-loving Jane over to
his cause of violence. Can Jane withstand his charms and
hold onto the principle she most cherishes, "life above all
else", even if it means giving up the man she has come to
love?
What
worked for me:
I'm
always fascinated by post-cataclysmic societies which are trying
to rebuild themselves a la "The Postman", "Rumors
of Spring," and "Greybeard", so it was
interesting to read a story along these lines with a strong
focus on the romance between the protagonists. (I'm equally
fascinated by sexy, brooding alpha males so I enjoyed the
character of Daken tremendously.)
Size-wise Jane started out plump, but lost
some weight during her travels. Even so, she still had a
few qualms about the cellulite on her thighs.
What
didn't work for me:
I
generally prefer my fantasy and sci-fi novels to be of epic
proportions, as it's very difficult for most authors to immerse
the reader in an entirely new and different world in a single
short novel. In this case, I would have definitely liked
more background given in "Oracle".
Overall:
A good faerie
tale with a "moral" worth heeding. I'd recommend
this book to fans of futuristic and fantasy romances, but it's
probably not for hard-core sci-fi addicts.
If you
liked "Oracle" you might also enjoy "Magick".
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~Stephanie
Plum~
mystery/thriller
series
by
Janet Evanovich
One
for the Money, Two for the Dough, Three to get Deadly, Four to
Score, High Five, Hot Six, Seven Up, Hard Eight
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Heroine:
Average
"Bawdy,
raucous, and outrageously sexy" don't even begin to do
justice to this thriller series which reads like an episode of "Moonlighting"
meets "Married to the Mob". Heroine Stephanie
Plum is from the Burg, a close-knit neighborhood in Trenton, New
Jersey where the gals wear their skirts tighter and shorter than
their spandex biker shorts, their make-up is louder than their
booming car stereos, and their ultra-tall back-teased hair
barely fits under the doorways at the mall.
Formerly a
discount lingerie buyer, Italian-Hungarian Stephanie falls on
hard times and, in a fit of desperation, approaches her sleazy
cousin Vinnie about a job as a bond recovery agent at his bail
bonding business. Murder, mayhem, and mishaps abound as
Stephanie tries to get her "collars" and discovers the
job is far more difficult when you're the only unarmed person in
Jersey. (Stephanie actually owns a piece but prefers to leave it
in the cookie jar in her kitchen.)
What worked for me:
As
much as I enjoy the zany plots and wacky secondary characters, I
think what keeps me coming back to the series the most is
Steph's tangled love life. (It must be nice to have not
one but two delicious hunks chasing after you!) Janet
Evanovich honed her word craft skills while writing romantic
fiction, so she certainly knows how to spin out the sexual
tension between the superbly-drawn characters of Stephanie,
Morelli, and Ranger. In fact, it takes several books of
the series before there is any culmination of lust and love
whatsoever. Talk about extended foreplay!
Some folks
might not find the mysteries convoluted enough, but not being a
Perry Mason myself I like the fact that I catch on to the clues
before Steph. Makes me feel quite the sharp cookie. :^)
As far as
size goes, Stephanie lays a few numbers on you weight-wise, but
you get a sense that she's fudging them a bit. There are
some characters who have a decidedly fat-phobic view on life but
fortunately Lula is there to straighten them out.
What didn't work for me:
Serial writing is a great gimmick. It's all about leaving
the reader hanging by a thread waiting desperately for the next
installation in the series. I was lucky, having jumped on
the band wagon late I was able to zip through all of the books
back-to-back. Now that I am all caught up, though, I
too shall have to endure the agony of waiting to find out what
will happen in the next book.
Overall:
Excellent writing, interesting plots, wildly
colorful recurring characters, and an infusion of humor make
this series a great joy to read, with each book even better than
the one before! Since the novels build on each other it's best
to read them in order. Warning: there is coarse language used in
these books, and they must be read while eating pizza and/or
doughnuts.
If you liked the "Stephanie Plum" mystery/thriller
series, you might also like "Plum
Girl", "Walking
at Midnight" and "Looking
for Laura".
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~The
Last Days of a Rake~
by
Charlotte Bennett
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Heroine:
Rubenesque
It just isn't
done. Ladies in Victorian England do not write
novels. And they certainly do not travel anywhere
unescorted. But Collette Jardiniere has broken both of
these cardinal rules. Although not thrilled by the notion,
she published her novel under a male pseudonym and was content
to remain in her little Kentish village quietly collecting the
royalties for it . . . until some unprincipled cad claimed her
work as his own and is now being feted around London as the new
literary genius!
Collette is
faced with having to travel via train to the city she dreads, to
confront her negligent publisher who has yet to set the record
straight in this publicity fiasco. A two, perhaps three
day trip at best, the overwrought author surmises. But fate
intervenes and thrusts in her path one Chesleigh Stonehampton
Jermyn, a devastatingly handsome man-about-town who turns the
staid spinster on her ear. Can Collette solve her
plagiarism problems, withstand Mr. Jermyn's toe-curling
advances, and still keep her good name and virtue intact?
What worked for me:
I loved reading about Collette's little flights of fancy,
which she quaintly dubbed her "literary inner voice".
(Would that passages like those would channel themselves through
my fingers!) Jermyn
was delicious and aggravating all at once. He was
perfectly sexy until he started espousing his views on women and
their supposed lack of intellect. Fortunately, Collette
was able to correct his misogynistic assumptions.
Despite rubbing each other the wrong way the pair had a spark
right from the get-go, and Ms. Bennett masterfully played out
the sexual tension between the two without letting their love
burst into flame too soon.
Size-wise Collette was quite plump, but though she was aware
that her figure was more padded than was quite in vogue, she
didn't dwell on it.
What didn't work for me:
When
I stay up all night to finish a book I prefer to do it nestled
in my comfortable bed, not propped up at odd angles in my
computer chair. :^)
Overall:
An excellent
read. I recommend "The Last Days of a Rake" to
anyone who savors sexual tension in their romantic stories.
If you liked
"The Last Days of a Rake" you might also enjoy "The
Accidental Bride", "The
Bride and the Beast", "The
Fire-Flower", "Unmarriageable"
, or "Suddenly
You".
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~Hey
Lady, Your Tin Snips are Showing~
by
Beth Szillagyi
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Heroine:
solid
Despite the hard work real-life "Rosie the Riveters"
did on the home front in WWII, women still had a long way to go
in gaining equality in and out of the traditionally
"all-male" workplace. "Hey Lady" is
based on one woman's experiences as an apprentice sheet metal worker
in the early 1980s, and explains with a refreshing candor
exactly what it was like to forge the way for other women in the
blue-collar workforce.
What worked for me:
While some of the technical jargon sailed over my head (Yeah, I
took shop in school but only just squeaked out a passing grade.
:^) ) the plot was engaging enough to keep me turning the
pages. I was rooting for Val all the way!
What didn't work for me:
The
writing in a few sections felt less polished than in the rest of
the story, but other than that it was smooth reading.
Overall:
This was an interesting
glimpse into the world of construction, and Ms. Szillagyi deftly
infused its cold, harsh reality with warmth and humor. I
highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in gender
studies. Warning: There is coarse
language in this book.
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~Gumshoe
Girls~
by
Gale O'Bryant
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Heroines:
varied
Follow the cases of a very determined, very eclectic group of
amateur sleuths. In "Kennedy's Commandos" the
ladies take on survival training camp and teach some hard-nosed
military men a few new tricks. In "Sins of
Touch" the girls unravel the threads of a topsy-turvy case
involving stalking, extortion, and the shooting of a male
stripper.
What worked for me:
I particularly enjoyed reading about the Girls' hijinks in the
short story "Kennedy's Commandos", which was a
pleasant introduction to the various women involved in this
cadre of detectives.
As far as size goes, it wasn't really an issue in these stories.
Some of the ladies presented were larger, some were smaller.
Some were old and some were young. All were intelligent,
funny, and passionate about their work.
What didn't work for me:
There
were some editing oversights which made for a slightly bumpy
read.
The
large cast of characters in "Sins of Touch" was at
times difficult to keep track of, and provided less opportunity
to develop a rapport with individual Gumshoe Girls as in the
less-populated "Kennedy's Commandos".
Overall:
Editing
issues aside the stories were enjoyable, quirky, and worth
having a look at. I'd love to see the Gumshoe Girls cross
paths with their erstwhile trainers from the survival camp again
in future stories. :^)
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