Grade: C+

Dear Bam,

You’ll have to forgive me. I know I’ve been delinquent of late, seeing as how I’ve been busy studying for the big exam [Ed. Note: Which she passed. Holla at yo gurl!] and *ahem* spawning, as you so eloquently put it to someone else. Since this is the case, I am stealing your fabulous review format (which I plan to use from now on, ’cause I’m a lazy bitch…and when you do something right it should be repeated often). Believe it or not, I have read a few books that had nothing to do with Taxation, Accounting or Corporate and Securities Law. While I know you would find reviews of those books scintillating, I’ve read Sasha White’s Trouble and will review that rather than Executive Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights. Everyone… don’t sigh with relief quite yet.

(more…)

Grade: A

Bam,

Okay, I’ve already said I’m a little shit for not getting this to you sooner. [Ed. Note: Yep.] What can I say? I’m busy? Nah, that’s the worst excuse on the planet. I’m prego? No, that excuse only works with my husband… and truthfully it doesn’t really work all that well. Especially when I told him I had to buy maternity shoes. He didn’t think that was quite as funny as I did. You know I always have time for you, even when you’re having a… moment. Because I love you, no matter what. Ewww! Now that my hormonal love fest is over, I’ll tell you something: I love Joey W. Hill. With a passion I simply don’t understand. Maybe I’m a voyeur. Well, no, I think I’m a mental voyeur. Actually seeing the stuff she writes about would probably cause a mental breakdown, but imagining it? In all of it’s dark, heavy romantic glory? Well, that I can definitely handle.

I read Natural Law on your recommendation and it took me a long time to get through it. Every few chapters I had to put the book down and think about what I was reading, what power plays (both sexual and non-sexual) are really about and what draws a certain man to a certain woman and vice versa. From that moment I was hooked, and have read nearly all of Ms. Hill’s backlist (at least all of it that I could get my hands on). Now, I know this review is late, but when you told me to hurry up and read The Vampire Queen’s Servant, I was ecstatic. I also knew that like the majority of Ms. Hill’s writing, this would be an intense story with strong fantasy elements. This book was not a letdown, and definitely not for the faint of heart.

(more…)

Grade: B-

Dear Bam,

Am I a glutton for punishment? Some might definitely say so. Others might say I’m only an amateur since I’ve never subjected myself to LKH’s Anita Blake. But hey, I read every Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark-Hunter book except for the last two or three (I stopped keeping count). Why? Ummm… because I like to poke myself in the eye with a fork. I also realized that J. R. Ward did the whole alpha vampire-series with sex way better. But for some reason, when a series starts off right, I keep trying the next one… and the next one, always thinking that the author will find the brilliance, the plot turn, the characterization that grabbed me in the first place. Well, Anne Stuart is back! I can’t say that she’s back with all of the strength that drew me to Bastien in Black Ice, but this book was significantly more enjoyable than Cold As Ice.
(more…)

Grade: C

Dear Bam,

Stories about people who turn out to be something other than what they think they are always intrigue me. And in the Philip K. Dickian vein of writing, I love being in the dark about what is fantasy and what is reality, with small hints to both deceive and make me think more along the way. Well, either that or have a twist that you don’t see coming, and when it happens it so hard to wrap your brain around that you question your own reality. Unified Souls is that type of story, but I figured out the plotline, complete with twists, almost immediately since the author was kind enough to spell everything out. Which left 353 pages of character development, worldbuilding and backstory. I’m not saying I’m smarter than the average bear, but when you read this on the first page, well…you know where the author is going:

(more…)

Grade: A-

Dear Bam,

I remember standing in the bookstore with Slave to Sensation in my hand, wondering if I really felt like reading another shape-shifter book. Like a true putz, I put it back on the shelf because I thought it was… who knows. Too purple? Too sexy? Too something. Then I read your review and posted this in the comments section for all of you who don’t remember:

DAMN IT, BAM! I had this in my hand in the bookstore yesterday. WHY COULDN’T YOU HAVE POSTED IT EARLIER?? Yes, I’m yelling at you. I spent $25 at lunch on two new books and I KNEW I should have added this to the stack.

Yep. Ran out that day to get Slave to Sensation and devoured it like a bag of peanut M&Ms. I couldn’t tell you what the other two books I bought were, so shame on me. As you can imagine, I couldn’t wait to get my greedy paws on Visions of Heat. I’m happy to say that Ms. Singh didn’t disappoint with her second effort in the Psy/Changeling/Human world. For those of you who didn’t read the first book in the series, do not fear. Ms. Singh deftly describes the world of the Psy who believe themselves superior above all the other humanoid creatures on Earth. In 1979, the Psy created SILENCE (shouldn’t it be called Psylence? Too J. R. Ward?) in an attempt to rid their population of hatred, jealousy, greed, and other such negative emotions. Of course, you can’t get rid of the bad without destroying the good, so the Psy are locked in an emotionless world that seems full of totally frigid robots. For those of you who were delighted by Slave to Sensation, fear not. Ms. Singh does not get into a repetitive cycle when world-building, and reading about the PsyNet, Psy Council and Psy hierarchy brings new perspective to the Changeling/Psy/Human landscape.

(more…)