Definitely going to suggest this one to AC.
Anyhow, this is the book: The Native Star by M.K. Hobson.
I'm of two minds about this book.
One is that it was a fun mixture of historical fantasy, adventure, and romance. A review on amazon called it "a rollicking good time", which pretty much sums it up.
The other? Deus ex machina. Over and over. And I hate that. Each time the main protagonists were in pickle, some new and not foreshadowed type of magic showed up to make Everything Better. Of course it would never stay better for long. Which was the endearing part of the book.
A fast read, some very clear romance inspirations. I was very afraid at the beginning that was all it was going to end up being: one of those invariably disappointing paranormal romances that people are lumping with fantasy so you think you're going to get a Book and you end up with a Romance with a Dragon or a Vampire thrown in. It turned out ok, because, to be honest, her characters are fun.
The ending clearly, imo, set us up for a sequel.
It was a welcome book for me because I've been having a miserable time of it. After the two first books of the Tide Lords, I read something crappy and now forgotten, then the third book of that series, which was good. And then... nothing. I was literally heading to the library every other day, picking something up, reading fifty pages, and taking it back. I don't like that. Yeah, it could be that I rejected some very good books because of my state of mind but it was frustrating for me too!
I have nothing lined up right now. I'm listening to The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms on CD, but I've nothing lined up on the reading front. I was going to read Willis's Nebula nominated books (Blackout and All Clear but someone I trust actually said they were in desperate need of being edited down by at least half, and just no.). I think I have some hard sci-fi on my list right now somewhere, I'll see what the library has available.
Actually, I do have Peggy Orenstein's Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture on my bedside table, but that just sounds depressing right now.
Also, I have the next Rick Riordan coming from amazon next week, and I never did bother to read the first book of that series, The Red Pyramid. Maybe I'll read that and put AC third in line to get Throne of Fire after Perry and me! Heh. Serves her right for going to Costa Rica, right?
Anyhow, this is the book: The Native Star by M.K. Hobson.
I'm of two minds about this book.
One is that it was a fun mixture of historical fantasy, adventure, and romance. A review on amazon called it "a rollicking good time", which pretty much sums it up.
The other? Deus ex machina. Over and over. And I hate that. Each time the main protagonists were in pickle, some new and not foreshadowed type of magic showed up to make Everything Better. Of course it would never stay better for long. Which was the endearing part of the book.
A fast read, some very clear romance inspirations. I was very afraid at the beginning that was all it was going to end up being: one of those invariably disappointing paranormal romances that people are lumping with fantasy so you think you're going to get a Book and you end up with a Romance with a Dragon or a Vampire thrown in. It turned out ok, because, to be honest, her characters are fun.
The ending clearly, imo, set us up for a sequel.
It was a welcome book for me because I've been having a miserable time of it. After the two first books of the Tide Lords, I read something crappy and now forgotten, then the third book of that series, which was good. And then... nothing. I was literally heading to the library every other day, picking something up, reading fifty pages, and taking it back. I don't like that. Yeah, it could be that I rejected some very good books because of my state of mind but it was frustrating for me too!
I have nothing lined up right now. I'm listening to The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms on CD, but I've nothing lined up on the reading front. I was going to read Willis's Nebula nominated books (Blackout and All Clear but someone I trust actually said they were in desperate need of being edited down by at least half, and just no.). I think I have some hard sci-fi on my list right now somewhere, I'll see what the library has available.
Actually, I do have Peggy Orenstein's Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture on my bedside table, but that just sounds depressing right now.
Also, I have the next Rick Riordan coming from amazon next week, and I never did bother to read the first book of that series, The Red Pyramid. Maybe I'll read that and put AC third in line to get Throne of Fire after Perry and me! Heh. Serves her right for going to Costa Rica, right?