Hold Me
A very enjoyable slice of contemporary romance that basically does the whole ‘Shop Around The Corner/You’ve Got Mail’ plot with Physicists and science bloggers.
Unusually among the romance novels I’ve read this one has a very diverse cast none of whom are defined solely by their ethnicity, identity or whatever.
I much preferred it to the first in this series.
Armada
I gave this a re-read to see if it improved on a second go-through. It really didn’t
I really have nothing new to say about the book so read my earlier review.
Wishful Drinking
Only a few days ago I nearly bought a physical copy of this book in a bargain bookstore.
Since I’ve just a had a big clear out of books I didn’t want to start adding new books to my shelves.
Imagine my delight when I saw it pop up in the Kindle Daily Deals on Amazon. Especially because I had a credit that meant I could get the book for nothing!
Wishful Drinking is a book adaptation of Fisher’s successful one-man show of the same name.
It’s a mostly hilarious, occasionally moving piece of autobiography. The best parts are when she talks about her family and her battles with mental illness but it’s never less than entertaining.
Given it’s stage show origins it’s not surprising that it’s a little on the short side but it’s still very much worth reading – especially if you can pick it up at a bargain price.
The Collapsing Empire
This is easily Scalzi’s best book since Zoe’s Tale.
The story is set in the Interdependency which is a collective of planets controlled by aristocrats and guilds and connected by a FTL network called the Flow. We arrive to find this fictional world in the midst of political upheaval and finding itself on the brink of disaster. Unusually for a book with many point-of-view characters I enjoyed spending time with all of them. It has to be said, though, that Kiva Lagos is my favourite. I definitely want more of her in the rest of the series.
Indeed the only real flaw of the book is that it feels very much like the set up for a series. I can’t wait for the next one to come out so Scalzi’s got me hooked already.
I should note that I read an advance copy of this book provided by NetGalley
Attachments
I’ve not made the quickest start to my reading this year. A health issue has meant that I really couldn’t concentrate on story for any length of time for the past few weeks.
To get me started I decided to pick out an easy read, something that I’ve read before.
Attachments is a novel about people working for a newspaper in 1999 and early 2000. It’s a sweet tale of female friendship between a film critic and a subeditor told epistolary style through emails which are read by the poor IT guy who has to check for abuse of the Internet by employees. There’s a believable but always fundamentally creepy romantic relationship that develops between the IT guy and the film columnist. After all he’s read all sorts of things about her life without her knowledge or consent.
It’s not as good as later books by the author but it is enjoyable and as I say it’s an easy read.
Miss Kane’s Christmas
This novella is basically the kind of premise that would you find in a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Santa Claus’ daughter is tasked to bring back the Christmas spirit to a widower by posing as his kid’s new nanny.
Short, super fluffy and free from all major e-book retailers.
Since I’m a Hallmark christmas movie junkie this suited me as a momentary diversion.
How To Save The World
The latest in Dunne’s superhero series finds our protagonist estranged from the Davenport corporation and attempting to go back to her normal life. Of course a crazed supervillain puts a spanner in the works…
This one is clearly designed to take the premise of the series into a direction that can continue for more volumes. It’s still entertaining and well worth your time but just that little bit less satisfying than the previous volume.
Supervillains Anonymous
In super-max supervillain prison after the events of the previous novel our heroine finds herself caught up in plot masterminded by one of the greatest supervillains of them all.
This one is just as much fun as the first book in the series with the added bonus of an actual ending with a resolution and everything.
Superheroes Anonymous
This is a highly enjoyable contemporary superhero tale about Hostage Girl (that is – the girl always kidnapped by the supervillains) when she’s kidnapped and ends up with superpowers of her own.
Great characters, moves a great pace and it draws you right in. The only problem is the cliffhanger ending. I’m docking a half point for that one.
Must Love Mistletoe
A freebie from iBooks, this is a competent if formulaic contemporary Christmas romance.
High powered attorney Bailey comes home to bail out the family Christmas store at the busiest time of the year.
Who does she find next door? Her high school sweetheart of course. Former bad boy Finn is home looking after his terminally ill Grandmother while recovering from injuries acquired in the line of duty as a Secret Service agent.
Will sparks fly? What do you think?
Worth reading if you like a serviceable contemporary romance and like the price of free!