Turbulence by E.J. Noyes

Turbulence by E.J. Noyes

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I seriously considered putting this book on my DNF shelf at somewhere between 70 to 87 percent ((view spoiler)[right around when Mark was comforting Isabelle and she was crying (hide spoiler)]).

I need to stop reading books that seem to have communication issues, miscommunication, and disinformation be super important plot points. I just . . . . can't stand that any longer. That's not really my problem with the book; no it's more I just stopped caring around that 70% mark. Close enough to the end, so I just finished the book.



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Skin Hunger by Eli Lang

Book received from both Netgalley and Riptide Publishing for an honest review

One of the problems of casually entering a LGBT book, specifically a book that, on the face of it, features two women, is the assumption (maybe only by me) that you are entering a romance. The book seemed to suggest this with the book description, it seemed to suggest this with the way the book opened with two women, one a drummer of a successful band, the other a dancer, meeting on a plan and having a satisfying introduction to each other. From the general causal 'it's going to be a Romance', to the description, to the way the book opened, it seemed fairly reasonable to assume that the book would then, once the plan landed (unless the book was set entirely on the plane), turn into a romance involving Ava the drummer and Cara the dancer.

The reader would be wrong to assume this . . . or would have assumed wrong . . . or however to word this shift.

If Ava had been a younger character, someone younger than 'almost thirty', this would have been a coming of age story. If Ava had been older, this would have been a mid-life crisis type story. But it's neither - Ava is sufficiently aged to not fall into the 'coming of age' category (with exceptions given for those coming to that type of life experience later in life), nor old enough to face a mid-life crisis. but still, the story that unfolds pulls similar ideas form both 'coming of age' stories and 'mid-life crisis' stories.

Ava is 'learning about herself' and 'coming into herself' through the story, while, at the same time, 'dealing with current position in life/current success and/or failure in various aspects of life (success: career; failure: love life/parent) - and dealing with facing questions on where they should go from here. So this is something of a mix 'coming of age through a mid-life crisis', or, in other words, a slice of life book. It is not, though, a capital R romance. Despite indications that the book might become one or was intended as one.

Ava is very full of herself - the entirety of the novel finds the reader trapped, and I use this purposefully, inside Ava's head as she navigates life. Dealing with the dreaded trip home to face the parents and the grandmother. Experimenting with the idea of having 'something' with Cara, though she knows she cannot because she will be there for a very short period of time, and because she's still in love with Tuck (a band-mate, someone she's apparently known for a very long time). Ava seems like a fully formed character, while others in the story seem like they are filters - are these creatures that Ava reacts against. She believes her parents are a certain way, and she reacts to them that way - whether they are or not. She does this with most of the characters in the story. Occasionally one or another character does something to break Ava out of her own head, out of her own presumations, and she suddenly is confronted with the idea that this 'other' actually is a real person (like when she is confronted by the idea that her Grandmother really loves her books, in a similar manner to how Ava loves her drum). Mostly, though, people are 'fixtures' to rail against, rant against, and/or move around. The father, for instance, never seems to come into focus in this book.

From a Romance point of view, from viewing this book as a Romance, this book fails. But I do not think this ever was supposed to be a romance. Or, at least, I hope it wasn't. I need to double check how it is being marketed. But, and this is actually my point, do not enter this book looking for a Romance.

On the other hand, as a slice of life, as a peak into someone's life as they navigate through certain 'issues', the book is quite captivating. Trapped inside one characters mind is not normally somewhere I want to find myself. But there was something there that kept pulling me back into reading the book. Heck, I read the first 43% of the book in one sitting and that's, what, something like 100 pages. That's how captivated I was - I couldn't get myself to stop and when I finally did, I'd read 100 pages.

I rate this book for what I found, not what I expected. And I suspect others, regardless of how they enter this book, will likely come to a different conclusion than I reach(ed). I was entertained, and I found the book satisfying. While I'm interested in what an actual romance between Cara and Ava might have looked like, I'm satisfied by what I foud inside on the book's pages.

One caveat, if this turns out to have intended to be seen as a Romance, I'll have to reconsider my rating. Probably downward.

Rating: 4.12

October 30 2017

The Bitch Club by KineticKid

Fanfiction link

I appear to be addicted to reading fanfiction. hmms. Weird. All those years I'd avoided it, and now...

Right, so, this is another fanfiction book using the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This one directs its attention onto Tara and Faith. And, later, to Buffy.

There's quite an interesting dynamic going on here more on that later, need to set it up. Faith is an ex-con, having spent two years in prison after killing the deputy Mayor, and is back in Sunnydale - she's actually been back for about 2 months now, but most of the 'Scoobies' don't know she's back. Faith had called Buffy to let her know, but Buffy cursed her out and told her to get lost. Faith asked the council (who she's now good with) where else she should go, and they tell her to stay there. So Faith is patrolling later in the night than Buffy normally does, and in a different part of town.

Meanhile, Tara and Willow have split up - Willow has used her magic on Tara one too many times, even after promising to stop doing so. Tara is literally afraid of Willow, and fears that she won't be able to stop Willow from forcing her to get back together with her. She, Tara, has lost so much weight that she's quite bone-y. Skin and bones.

And that's the interesting dynamic - two women with issues run into each other; one is an ex-con who doesn't think she desires to be forgiven or befriended - while at the same time not using that as an excuse to fall back down the path of evilness. The other suffers from the abuse she suffered from her father and brother, and from her ex-girlfriend - to the point she does nothing but got to school (college) and study; to the point she forgets to feed herself. And because of her break-up with Willow, Tara herself is also on the outs with the 'Scoobies'.

As part of her 'keeping away from Buffy and her gang', Faith works in a bar she just knows none of them would step foot into, a bar called 'The Bitch Club'. It's a lesbian bar that has a certain . . . BDSM vibe (which rarely gets seen in this story, but does graphic get displayed somewhere along the line; though still more hinted at than seen).

One night Faith notices a blonde woman drinking - throwing back shot after shot of whiskey. She's not the kind normally seen in the bar, but she still sits there drinking. Faith watches as a regular approaches and forces themselves onto the blonde woman. Faith 'saves her', and literally tosses the aggressive woman out of the bar. When she wanders back to see if the blonde woman is okay, the first words from the blonde woman's mouth (and yes, I do notice I keep saying 'blonde woman'), indicates that she knows Faith. Then it becomes clear to Faith why the blonde woman looked familiar - it's Tara. Before things advance any further, Tara passes out. Faith brings her back to her place and nurses her back to health.

And thus begins a long budding friendship that leads to more between Tara and Faith. Both helping the other creep back from the edge.

And then Buffy gets in on the action by popping up in the story, and interacting with an original character who had been present in the first half of the book as someone both Tara and Faith bumped into. Then that dynamic unfolded.

Then, when the book was almost over, Spike had to show up, making it appear we were going down a particular road of 'let's remember and include some of the more important characters from the show, instead of just sticking with two somewhat on the fringe players (Tara and Faith)'.

Right, so - quite enjoyable book. Includes romance and graphic depictions of a sexual nature. Though the first graphic depictions were of a more barely clothed in public kind (it was theme night at the bar that Faith worked at as a bouncer - and Tara wanted to go (well, she wanted to spend time with Faith, Faith had to work, it was theme night, Tara was reluctant, still wanted to spend time with Faith, etc. etc. Faith's naked breasts were on display, then hidden behind a belt, etc. etc., it is something of an S&M club).

I may have lost track of what I was going to write next, distracted, as I was, by images and remembrances of that particular series of scenes.

Right, so, liked the book.

Rating: 4.78

October 26 2017

The Year of the Knife by G.D. Penman

The Year of the Knife by G.D. Penman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Book received from both Netgalley and Meerkat Press for an honest review

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Lesbian Fiction, Alt History.
I've read roughly 656 works that are lesbian fiction. 810 mysteries; 89 alt-histories; 667 fantasy; and 128 urban fantasy works. Why do I mention this? Because of those 656 lesbian fiction works I've read, the vast majority are contemporary romances, and when the books are fantasy (108 of those), they tend to be paranormal romances. You know how many tend to be urban fantasies? So few I have to do an off the top of my head guess . . . and come up with about five (depending on definitions of urban fantasy/paranormal fantasy), this book, two Alexis Hall books, and two Brey Willows books (actually, I also put Jae's Shape-shifter series on the urban fantasy shelf, though I'm not sure it really fits there - see, definitions are hard).

Alt history? As noted, I've read 89 works in that genre. How many of them were Lesbian fiction? Two. This book here, and one by Gail Carriger (the character who is in a lesbian romance in 'Romancing the Inventor' does turn up in other Carriger books, but as a background character ). And I'd actually forgotten to put that other one on the alt history shelf.

The point of all of this rambling is just that this book, from my own experience, is something of an odd ball genre wise. Though, admittedly, just because I've read 656 lesbian fiction works doesn't mean I've read them all (of course), so, for all I know, alt-history and urban fantasy might be huge in lesbian fiction.

Setting: New Amsterdam (for the most part, though brief 'pop-ins' elsewhere, like Nashville).
Not sure why it's 'New Amsterdam', since the city is in British control, and it got renamed in 'our' time line to New York in 1664 when the British got control of the place.

story: Isobella 'Sully' Sullivan (and don't call her by her first name or she'll act all shocked you actually know it) is an Irish immigrant to 21st century New Amsterdam. New Amsterdam, in turn, is in the American Colonies, and a part of the British Empire. Sully is a Senior Agent with the IBI (think FBI, but with magic users, and agents dressing in whatever they want to dress in - so don't think FBI, since FBI agents out of a suit would probably be instantly fired) - the IBI being the Imperial Bureau of Investigation. Wait, I think Sully's title is Superior Agent? Well, whatever it is, Sully is a high level agent for the IBI.

Sully has been given a case to investigate suspicious deaths - deaths where it appears someone has taken over people, and had those people commit brutal and fatal crimes. The book then proceeds to tell an interesting story. Until about 75% to 85% (or was it 91%?) when the last part of the book became an information dump.

As alternate history, it's not clear what the 'pivot point' would be (since that's important in alternate history stories - pinpointing when a timeline diverged from our own), and there are certain odd things tossed in there that do not really make sense - see New Amsterdam's name (or, you know, above where I mentioned that New Amsterdam instantly became New York when taken over by the British in 1664). Sure, there's that information dump at the end of the book that 'helps' pinpoint the 'pivot point' but things were already different at that point in time.

As a mystery . . . well, if you are reading the book because you like mysteries, and only for that reason, you might not specifically like this book. There is a mystery, and it is interesting, and Sully does investigate it but . . . things kind of unravel in non-mystery book like ways.

As a fantasy it is good. As an urban fantasy, ditto. As a romance . . . well, there is a romance, but there's a reason I haven't even mentioned it yet - it's an urban fantasy type romance - as in, the main character vaguely feels some attraction to one of the characters in the story, they are something of a couple, and . . . stuff, but there's no real romance between the two - it's just there as a sub-plot (there were hints that a real capital R romance might break out, but no, this is just a romance sub-plot, not a Romance book).

Despite what some of what I've written might suggest, I did rather enjoy this book, and if not for the information dump at the end, I'd probably have rated this a high 4.5 or so stars. Instead I rate it a solid . . . hmm . . . 3.88 stars.

Rating: 3.88

October 26 2017



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Je me souviens by zulu

Fanfiction link.

Je me souviens by zulu

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a fanfiction for the show based on, I believe I saw, an episode in season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Whenever it was that Faith ended up falling into a coma, this story takes place 8 months later (that 'Faith in a coma' story line is very popular, I've found, in Buffy fanfiction). The story is from the point of view of Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane (though I don't think 'Lehane' was ever used in this book, instead she was called 'Faith Wilkins' (not sure if that means that the Mayor, Mayor Wilkins that is, 'adopted her' or if it's just a 'thing' they did in the story)).

Well, as noted, it is 8 months after Faith fell into that coma after being attacked, stabbed by Buffy, and falling to her . . . non-death. She's awake now, though she has amnesia. She doesn't recognize herself, nor this 'Wilkins' person, who is her contact person (Guardian might have been used), nor this 'Rupert Giles', who is her emergency contact. She's bored with resting on a bed, so she cleans herself up in a shower, and slips out of her room to watch some television. But but . . she was in a coma for 8 months! Well, she's also a slayer, and they heal quite fast. A lot faster than medical personal think is possible, but that's not really important. Just the part where she's not in her room when Giles and the Scooby squad turn up (Scooby squad being Buffy and her friends).

Faith giggles to herself as she hears the strangers talking about some missing woman. The words they use, the anger, hate, fear. That is until she overhears one of them calling the older man 'Giles' and she realizes they might just be talking about her. So she wanders over, they immediately start yelling at her, she's confused because, as noted, she has no memory. One thing leads to another, and Faith ends up going home to Joyce Summers home.

Meanwhile: Story involves both multiple LGBT couples, and two hetero couplings - Buffy's with Riley, and Xander is with Anya. (Meanwhile Willow is with Tara, though she is just now being introduced to the gang, and . . . Buffy's with Faith, eventually; there's also some vague comment about some Giles/Spike thing going on, but I'm not sure if I misread the one liner or not - that never comes up again and Spike is not in this story, so it basically doesn't matter).

This was a rather interesting and entertaining short novel. With much humor, some fluff, some angst, and much sex. Graphic sex. Good enjoyable story.

Rating: 4.56

October 24 2017



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