Review - The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

Hounded, Hexed, & Hammered

I LOVE this series.  I may not know a whole lot about the various pantheons mentioned in these books but it doesn’t really matter.  Mr. Hearne takes you on a roller coaster ride and keeps you laughing.  I heartily recommend.  I am anxiously awaiting the next in the series.

People can be such jerks.

Okay that isn’t news. I’m not even sure why it is bothering me more today than usual.  There is such hatred and bigotry out there that I feel so damned depressed.  A so called Christian kills children in Norway.  Amy Winehouse dies and there are assholes saying she deserved it because she wouldn’t go to rehab. Redneck idjits that live in the same town as I do say in public with a straight face that if we allow gay marriage the next thing will be folks wanting to marry their livestock.  I just don’t get how people can be so small minded.

Review – Hidden Talents by Emma Holly

Emma Holly has done it again!  My only complaint is that the book was too short.  I want a sequel soon please.

Emma Holly writes sizzling hot romance.  With Hidden Talents we are introduced to Resurrection, NY America’s only supernatural friendly town and its werewolf police force.  The characters were believable even if their world is different than ours. 

Action, adventure, romance what more could you want except more.   

Politics and Passion

Facebook and the internet have allowed me to observe some of my favorite authors outside of their work.  I find it amazing that they come from a wide spectrum of politics and passion from right wing conservatives to liberal PFLAG mamas, Christian, Pagan, and Jewish.  I’m not sure but there may even be a Muslim in there.  The point is they all have passion.  They believe in something.  What I find really amazing is that only rarely does their real life philosophy enter their work.  There are the exceptions of course but it is still fun to watch.  

It’s in the details

Just how much detail does an author have to give before it just adds clutter?  I know of an author that puts so much detail into her work that I’d be willing to bet I could pick the lead characters out of a line up.  The imagery was terrific.  The story sucked.  I have a problem when reading historicals in that I really don’t give a crap what they wore to the third ball unless it has some bearing on the story.  If the author is trying to set the stage then describe one or two outfits not what they wore every time they go out.  For goodness sake some folks change two and three times a day!  Patricia Cornwell tells a terrific mystery but I could honestly give a crap about what they ate for dinner and whether the wine was a good pairing unless it pertains to the story.  Yes some scene setting is needed especially when world building and it is fun to know what folks are wearing and eating but some folks just go overboard.  What do you think?

My TBR shelf

Some women buy shoes, some buy jewelry, others spoil themselves with spa days and mani/pedis and the like.  For me it is books.  My TBR shelf now has about 75 books on it and that doesn’t include the number of e-books I have waiting on me.  I think I may have an addiction.  It could be worse I guess.  When does it become a problem?  How many books do you have on your TBR shelf?

On E-Readers, Free Books & Reviews

As a techie I’ve had an e-reader for years.  First on my p.c. then on my PDA and last year for the holidays I received a Nook. (I refuse to get dragged into the whole ebook v paper/ink debate.  I love them all) One of the things I love most about e-readers is the wide array of material out there and it is getting better all the time.  I’ve found some of my favorite authors when they were just starting out because they self-published their book in an e format.  And there is a veritable smorgasbord of free reads out there in most every genre.   

Recently I had an opportunity to download and read the first three books in the Laws of the Lycans by Nicky Charles for free from Smashwords.  At least I hope it is the first of many more to come.  Ms. Charles asked only that you review the books somewhere in return.  I’ve read some of those reviews and am appalled at what some folks consider a review. 

This is my review for:

Laws of the Lycans - book 1: The Mating, Laws of the Lycans - book 2: The Keeping, and Laws of the Lycans - book 3: The Finding  

From the title you can assume this series is about Werewolves and you would be right but basically these are romances with added difficulties.  As with any romance the crux is the characters.  In The Mating I kept putting it down because both lead characters were acting like idiots.  Then I realized that if I didn’t like them I wouldn’t care.   In the second book The Keeping the lead male started out really unlikeable.  He redeems himself but it took a long time to do so.  The third book, The Finding, was perhaps the best of the three but that may be because it didn’t have to do the world building that the first did.  I like that this is a series and should be read in order. I like keeping in touch with the characters from previous books.  I hope Ms. Charles will continue this series. 

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/charliej