Archive for February, 2012

Hunting Season by Nevada Barr

February 24, 2012 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged , , ,

When Park Ranger Anna Pigeon answers a call to Mt. Locust,  she’s somewhat relieved to be spared the social awkwardness of attending a wedding reception with her still-married-to-someone-else boyfriend.  It’s far from a routine call however:  there’s a dead man in one of the historic home’s bedrooms and the scene implies sex-play gone awry.  The only thing clear about this case is that all is not as it appears and there’s more than one mystery to solve.  As Anna tries to fit the pieces together, she finds herself on uncertain terms with her colleagues and targeted for murder by persons unknown.

As usual, Barr excels at creating a vivid setting.  The mystery was layered and satisfying and I loved the historical angle.  I admit, I was somewhat frustrated with Anna this time around because I figured out most of the mystery before she did and I don’t think it was due to a sudden spike in my IQ.  I was particularly exasperated with her acceptance of Randy Thigpen’s various antics; I understand that she’s just counting down the days until he retires but given his behavior in Deep South, I did have a hard time believing that she wasn’t more suspicious of his activities.  That said, she did have a lot going on and while frustrating, it is believable that she wasn’t quite on her A-game this time: one of the very best things about Anna is that she comes across as a real person, complete with flaws.  Even on her worst day, Anna is still a force to be reckoned with!

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Once Upon a Time: Caught in Bad Romance

February 20, 2012 · Filed under Once Upon a Time, TV · Tagged , ,

Where to begin, Motorcycle Man or Love Triangle?  Motorcycle Man it is.  We see him taking apart Henry’s book, dipping the pages in something and hanging them up to dry, and then reassembling the book.  Is he a Grimm brother, after all?  Is he someone along the lines of Rumpelstiltskin and Regina, a powerful FairyTale Land character who is fully aware of the curse and has his own agenda?  Is he the Big Bad Wolf?  Granny did seem to like him (go Granny!).  Is he the person who found infant Emma by the side of the road and did that somehow lead him to become aware of everything Storybrooke?  Is he a time-traveling adult version of Henry?  Is he Henry’s dad?  I really don’t know.  WL commented on the Snow White/Prince Charming post that he might be Henry and that idea has potential:  he knew where the book was buried and I can see him wanting to add more stories to the book to provide more clues.  The downside is that it seems like there might be attraction between Emma and Motorcycle Man which would rule that relationship out.  He does seem fond of Henry and Emma though, which makes me think that he may be Henry’s dad although I have no workable idea of how that would be.  Emma doesn’t recognize him—maybe he was in disguise but that’s skeevy and he doesn’t seem skeevy.  I mean, sure he took the book and did something to it—and then he planted the book where Emma would find it—but that’s a different sort of sneaky than putting on a disguise and seducing a teenage girl.  Emma also seems to have a clear, if unpleasant,  picture of Henry’s dad in her mind, so it seems like he was someone she knew well as opposed to a one night stand with a mysterious stranger.  While we still don’t know who he is, we do have a name:  August Wayne Booth.  I’m sticking with Motorcycle Man for the moment.   I’m positive there’s some meaning in the name he gave Emma but I have absolutely no idea what it is.  Any thoughts?

Anyway, Motorcycle Man finally asks Emma out for that drink but he’s the creative type so he takes her to a wishing well for a cup of water.  Kind of romantic, really, even though I think his motive was to nudge her into recognizing that the curse is real.  I think it’s a safe assumption that the well draws from the same lake Charming visited so what was Motorcycle Man hoping would be returned to Emma?  Henry?  Henry’s dad?  Or, has the curse nullified the magical properties of the water?  Maybe the curse can’t be blamed for this—maybe the Siren gave the water its magical properties and they began to dimish after Charming killed her.

Charming—I still love his character even though I’m beyond irritated with his Storybrooke version of self, David.  While we were watching it, my friend Melissa commented that maybe David is such a lessened version of himself because he was near death when the curse hit him.  I like that idea—I want some explanation for his behavior other than the writers need to come up with some obstacles to his romance with Mary Margaret.  Maybe the curse enhanced any weaknesses that the FairyTale Land characters already possessed:  as much as I like him, Charming was a bit selfish in his decision to run out on the marriage to Abigail.  I can see him shrugging off the responsibilities of the kingdom—he never wanted that anyway and I can see him rationalizing that the King would figure out another way to save the people from hunger.  What about his mom, though?  He originally agreed to the marriage because he was afraid of what the King would do to her if he did not—and rightly so.  Just a thought.

And finally, Abigail and Frederick:  wow.  While she appeared spoiled and snobbish at first, it turns out that Abigail is actually something of a sweetheart.  Still mourning her lost love, Abigail isn’t really interested in marriage but she’s a dutiful daughter and plays along.  When she learns Charming’s story, she endeavors to help him.  And in Storybrooke, once she has time to process everything, she forgives David and writes a heartfelt letter giving him her blessing to be with Mary Margaret—he’ll never see it, but that’s not the point.  She also seems pretty close to breaking free of the curse:  she recognizes her relationship with David as an illusion and knows that she needs to break free from it in order to achieve her happy ending.  So, it’s only natural that something happens to her on the way out of town—but what?  Is she wandering the woods with a concussion or is she cellmates with Belle?  And what was Frederick doing?  No one leaves Storybrooke—as Kathryn indicates, the curse has instilled a strong fear of leaving—so why was he heading out of town as well?

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Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

February 14, 2012 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged , , ,

Witches, vampires, werewolves and other supernatural beings lived quietly among humans for centuries, taking care to hide their existence.  Everything changed when a virus decimated a large portion of the human population; someone needed to step up to manage the chaos and many “Inderlanders” chose to do so, revealing themselves in the process.  With the revelation that the world possessed all manner of paranormal cravings and powers, the appropriate agencies were created to oversee supernatural activity:  Inderlander Services was established to enforce the law alongside its human-run counterpart, the Federal Interlander Bureau.

Rachel Morgan is an I.S. bounty hunter:  it’s her job to apprehend supernatural lawbreakers in the Cincinnati area.  Lately her apprehensions haven’t been all that smooth and she’s been relegated to runs normally reserved for rookies.  Her latest assignment, a tax-evading leprechaun, is the last straw.  Rachel decides to quit; unfortunately for her, the I.S. doesn’t like losing its runners without some sort of hefty payment in return.  Rachel’s short on cash which means that she’s a dead witch walking unless she can hand over something big, something like proof that Councilman Trent Kalamack is running Brimstone.

What an excellent beginning to a series!  Reviewers have compared it to Stephanie Plum meets Anita Blake and it’s a fair comparison if we’re referring to early Stephanie Plum.  While Rachel has the skills to do her job, her plans tend to backfire.  Rachel has two sidekicks:  Ivy, a vampire, and Jenks, a pixie.  Even though they are business partners, Ivy’s vampiric nature makes her as much of a danger to Rachel as the assortment of were, witch and fairy assassins trying to collect the I.S. bounty on her head.  Jenks may be tiny but he’s a force to be reckoned with and he’s already one of my favorite characters ever.

Trent is a curious villain:  first of all, no one can figure out exactly what he is, well aside of ruthless to the core, that is.  For all of his cruelty though, he has an aversion to black magic and that seems odd—unless of course, that’s the only way someone like him can be killed?

Harrison has created an exceptional world and intriguing characters.  Three types of vampires, several types of witches, and a fierce antagonism between fairies and pixies are just the icing on the cake.  The mythology is fascinating:  detailed and layered, it flows with the story instead of bogging it down.

Looking forward to The Good, the Bad, and the Undead!!!

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Once Upon a Time: Beauty and Rumpelstiltskin

February 13, 2012 · Filed under Once Upon a Time, TV · Tagged , , , ,

Loved the spin on the Beauty and the Beast story with Rumpelstiltskin as the Beast!!!  Rumpelstiltskin tossed Belle into a dungeon on her first night in his castle so the telling of their tale should have been a tough sell in less than an hour.  Maybe it was just the chemistry between Carlyle and de Ravin, maybe it was just my overactive imagination eagerly filling in the blanks between the scenes, but I was totally sold on the development of their feelings for one another.  We know that Rumple was once a decent, caring person and seeing glimpses of that man beneath the dangerous trickster veneer was captivating.  I would have loved to have seen more.

Belle isn’t simply all about bad boys or a mere victim of Stockholm Syndrome:  when Rumpelstiltskin grants her the opportunity to leave him, she decides to do so.  She only changes her mind when she’s given hope that True Love’s Kiss will rid him of the evilness within.  She kisses him and is delighted when it looks like the curse is breaking;  Rumple, however, panics and we see another glimpse of the man he was previously, the fearful one.  I was worried about this scene but was relieved to see how it was done:  he cast her away but he didn’t harm her.  He appears hopeful when he thinks she may return and heartbroken when he’s told that she is dead.  Did he check up on the Queen’s story?  Beat up Belle’s father?  Or just endeavor to be even scarier and start killing fairies?  When will Mr. Gold find Belle in Storybrooke???  I loved the last scene between Mr. Gold and the Mayor:  I was certain that he knew who he was but I wasn’t sure if the Mayor knew that he had escaped the curse.

As much as I loved Belle and Rumpelstiltskin’s story, I hated the lame, lackluster thing that has become Mary Margaret and David’s romance.  What are the writers doing?  Isn’t this supposed to be the central romance?  I can accept flawed characters and I could have accepted one impetuous passionate kiss between them, albeit quickly regretted or quickly followed by David leaving Kathryn.  I can’t accept an affair:  David’s not Rochester and the only thing keeping him bound to Kathryn is him.  Would the man determined to give his wife his mother’s ring really think an “I woof you” card was the height of romance?  Would that man buy cards for two different women?  Would that man say “Hey baby, I know I’m not leaving my wife for you but I want to make sure you don’t hook up with anyone but me?”  ACK.  Please tell me there’s another spell in play other than the curse.

Question:  if True Love’s Kiss can break any curse, why don’t Ashley & Sean or Mary Margaret & David remember who they are?

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Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

February 6, 2012 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged , , ,

Daniel was flung from heaven because he chose his love for Luce over his love for God; angry that Daniel also refused him, Lucifer cursed the two lovers to be torn apart, lifetime after lifetime.  Through Fallen, Torment, and Passion, readers have followed Daniel and Luce on their journey to break the curse that keeps them apart.  Fallen in Love is a collection of stories that takes a break from the main storyline to offer a glimpse into the romantic backgrounds of some of the series’ most guarded characters.

The first story focuses on Miles & Shelby, nephilim friends of Luce.  It’s an okay story:  Kate makes their newly discovered feelings for each other obvious and sugary-sweet so it’s hard to feel much here.  The references to O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi would have worked better if there had been more romantic tension in the relationship.  Purist that I am, I’m annoyed that they’re messing about with history but I’ll accept that no damage is done and move on.

The second story focuses on Roland:  for me, this was the best part of the collection.  Roland has always made me curious and this insight into his past and his current feelings about the Daniel/Luce relationship is intriguing.

The third story focuses on Arriane, one of my favorite Fallen characters.  Interesting, heartbreaking and controversial.

The fourth story returns to Luce and Daniel.  I’m kind of over them at the moment:  Kate needs to pick up the pace and give us something new.  To me, this simply read like a piece that belonged with Passion, particularly since we already know all about Bill.

As a bonus, we’re treated to the opening scenes from the next book in the series, Rapture.  Despite the fact I’m sort of over Luce and Daniel, I want to see how Kate pulls all of the pieces together.

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