Review: Dragonfly in Amber

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I consumed this as an audio book. I have a very mixed set of reactions to this series. I'll keep reading, I think, but I hate myself a little.



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Review: The Mad Scientist's Daughter

The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




I struggled with this book a little at first because the protagonist is more than a little self-absorbed. I fumed at some of her choices, and a few of the chapter breaks seemed to be designed to intensify the selfishness of our heroine.

But I liked the story, and the world building was remarkably deft, so I kept at it. To my surprise and delight, our heroine grew and changed as the story progressed, and her arc was from selfish to a much more grounded, empathetic approach to the people around her. (As many of us walk that same path from childhood to adulthood, it was nice to have a character who did wrong, but when she knew better, she did better.)

I think this fits nicely into the reading lists of science fiction lovers (though lighter fare than some of the other robot-themed classics) as well as people who just love a good story, well told, and haven't really dipped a toe into science fiction.





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Review: People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate of Lucie Blackman

People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate of Lucie Blackman by Richard Lloyd Parry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




A meticulously researched crime novel, this book appeared on my radar several times in podcasts and articles about Western expats living in Japan. It's a grim look at how marginalized the people who try to work on a tourist visa in ANY country can become, since they feel they cannot turn to the police for help when they are victimized.



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Review: Let Me In

Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




This feels a little like a book that a Swedish Stephen King might write. I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars, but I'm rounding UP for delightfulness of the mid-book plot twist that was built up SO well, but was still a surprise for me.

I am definitely going to read more of these.



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Review: Middlesex

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




I loved this book, though I have always liked Jeffrey Eugenides's books since I read The Virgin Suicides a million years ago. I'm not sure what took me so long to get around to reading this, but I'm glad I finally did.



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Review: The Apple: New Crimson Petal Stories

The Apple: New Crimson Petal Stories by Michel Faber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




I didn't know until recently that these short stories, set in the same literary Universe as The Crimson Petal and the White, even existed. They offer the tiniest bit of clarity to the famously ambiguous ending of that novel, though I won't say that I had every question answered.

Still, this was immensely satisfying for such a slim volume.




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Review: Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




Someone really needs to ask MacLean to stop describing women's nipples as straining tips. I can't figure out the biology of that word combination, and since it appears in at least three of the four books in this series, it pulls me out of every. single. story. for a moment to think: "I wonder what she means when she says that..."

The story is solid, and the characters are charming. I loved this trilogy as a whole, though I think this was the weakest of the four, I still liked the book.





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