2014 January Reading List

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson – A bit too literary for my taste. Not sci fi and quite different from what I usually read. Very depressing in several places, but the humor saves it some.  3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean – I don’t think I’ve read any historical romance since high school so I don’t have much to compare it to. They did get steamier than I remember. 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean – I kind of enjoyed it more than the previous book in the series. Sadly, I came to the realization that I could never write anything like that because I lack the proper knowledge about the era and I don’t have the patience to write half a dozen pages long sex scenes. 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean – I liked it less mostly because the main conflict and resolution don’t work for me, and also because at this point it’s obvious that all three books follow the same pattern and that becomes a little boring. 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress – I picked this book up mostly because of the title, but it reminded me why I fell in love with sci fi in the first place. Well worth the read. 4/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress – This one didn’t work for me. I didn’t find one character to like, and the whole “forget the past, everything is for the future” preaching was too annoying, and not to mention stupid. I’d take Howey’s Wool over this any day even if the pace was maddening slow. 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

The Mammoth Book of Steampunk by Sean Wallace – What is it about steampunk that makes it always about broken things rather than fixing things? And all of the stories were so bloody depressing. There’s something not quite right about a book when the only stories that stay with you in the end are those with same sex characters. It’s not like I haven’t read m/m and f/f before.  3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

Star rating system reminder:
1 star - you won't find any so it doesn't matter
2 stars - waste of time or unfinished book or both
3 stars - you won't be sorry for reading it, but you can just as well live without it
4 stars - it brings something special into your life
5 stars - brilliant, damn near perfect