My October Reads

As always, ratings reflect my enjoyment rather than a carefully thought out analysis of the integral quality of the book.

1. Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey (2/10)
Fantasy. One of her Elemental Masters series and a retelling of
Cinderella. Read it for the Fairy Tales theme and didn't finish it
as I just didn't care about the characters.

2. Webmage by Kelly McCullough (7/10)
SF/Fantasy. Clever idea that the Fates use a computer network to do
their jobs. Protaganist is a descendant and hacker who is trying to
stop the destruction of free will. The execution was solid but not
spectacular.

3. Moon Flash by Patricia A. McKillip (8/10)
YA SF. I've been meaning to reread this since it was rereleased and
finally got around to it. I last read it at 16 and I really liked it
all over again now, although there was one major world building issue
I never saw before that kept bugging me as an adult reader.

4. The Moon and the Face by Patricia A. McKillip (7/10)
YA SF. Sequel to Moon Flash and published as a single edition.
Again I enjoyed the reread, but the world building issue remained and
I think the first book had a stronger story. McKillip's strength
lies in fantasy more than SF I think, although these are still well
worth a read.

5. Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale (10/10)
Romance. I tend to read reveiws and commentary *about* romance than
romance itself, and this book is always well received. When a friend
asked me to get it from the library for her because hers didn't have
it, I decided to read it first. I was surprised by just how much I
loved it and found it a really good love story. (That said, the
friend said she ended up skimming it.)

6. Apocalypse Array by Lyda Morehouse (8/10)
SF. Conclusion to Morehouse's AngeLINK series, all of which I've
loved. I thought this was actually the weakest of the lot as the
resolution felt very anticlimatic. That said, I think I can see why
she did it that way, but I'm not convinced she pulled it off. Still
a good book.

7. Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud (8/10)
Fantasy. Solid conclusion to a solid series.

8. Remember When by J. D. Robb (8/10)
Romantic Suspense/Futuristic Suspense. This was the start of some
holiday reading, so I decided to take some of the J. D. Robb books
and a romance series for nice, uncomplicated reading. This one had a
modern first half and a second half with Eve and Roarke. It was a
clever idea and an okay story, but it meant neither story got the
full detail it deserved.

9. Rising Tides by Nora Roberts (8/10)
Romance. I found I really liked this series. This was probably my
least favourite and I'm not sure why as it was still a lovely story.

10. Divided in Death by J. D. Rovb (8/10)
Futuristic Crime/Romance. This was a very solid entry in Robb's
series, with Eve and Roarke facing the most difficult difference of
values yet.

11. Inner Harbour by Nora Roberts (9/10)
Romance. Again, lovely entry in a lovely series.

12. Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs (7/10)
Crime. Good story with solid characters and appropriate rough edges.
A few disturbing moments here and there.

13. Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts (10/10)
Romance. This was my favourite of the whole series. I just wish I
had a more visual imagination so I could picture Seth's paintings.

14. Visions in Death by J. D. Robb (8/10)
Futuristic Crime/Romance. More Eve and Roarke. Yay!

15. Survivor in Death by J. D. Robb (8/10)
Futuristic Crime/Romance. Ditto.