What's it about: silver, gold, moneylenders, Jews, poor people, winter, bits of magic, kings, demons, slightly lunatic husbands
There are three main female characters (Miryem, Wanda, Irina) we are following so it's like we are reading three different stories at once though they are interconnected. I don't like these other perspectives from minor characters that could be told through one of the three though there is a bit that is probably necessary for one of the minor character's view but it wasn't as if they couldn't fit it into with the three. Plus why no winter king's perspective when his character is essential to the plot? I like that the king adheres to a strict trading rule - you do something for him and he do something for you in return - he doesn't do anything without a reason.
There is no romance which I'm all for but the ending sort of ends like a romance which is fine. But these women (two of them anyway) were forced to marry these jackasses and [SPOILER AHEAD > they ended up with them so it kind of seem like a dumb conclusion but at the least the men changed in a way < END SPOILER] but we don't know that for sure since the ending isn't too detailed.
Still, I enjoyed this book even if I sort of dislike how it ended but the ending still would have benefit from more details.
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What's it about: an alien as a cat, a girl's life, family, animals
Basically, it's about an alien (named Leonard) who accidentally became a cat and then set out to try to get to the place where he will be picked up to go home and a girl (named Olive) who was helping him. It's a short, amusing read though it does seem like an episode of a show in which everything's fine at the end. It's still entertaining but probably not to people who wants more plot. It's a short, light book for when you need a break from reading anything heavy.
What's it about: gods, time loops, family, friendship
Events moved quickly which I like but at the same time, it just seemed too quick, like the reader have no time to digest something before it quickly moves on to another thing. But I enjoyed this though I wondered about the watch which is made from Mary's (the second main character) phone and she had been wearing it for two weeks (and more since there is a time loop) and the battery still works with her never charging it - only in fiction does battery doesn't run out on electronic gadgets.
What's it about: witches, mages, demons, magic, family, diabetes
The ending is somehow concluded but they added a new bit to somehow not complete the picture which I disliked. There is a sequel but I don't want to read it, not yet, maybe later. I did enjoy this but maybe they shouldn't have included the romance (I'm not a fan of teenage romance) though it is just toward the end.
What's it about: K-9 dogs, game warden's job, crime, murder, a stubborn, too-dumb-to-live main female character
The first main character (Mercy) and her 'perfect ass' (actual words used in the book: "one twenty-nine-year-old two-legged female Vermonter with an exit wound scar blighting her once perfect ass") is annoyingly stubborn, cocky and put her dog and herself in constant danger when she didn't have to. She seemed unable to even follow any good advices as if she have to rebel or to do things herself. She was no longer a cop or work for law enforcement but somehow she seemed to have forgotten that because she kept doing cop things and other people let her get away with it except for the detective who apparently disliked her but he have a good reason - she was doing his work - who wouldn't dislike her for that? Mercy should have been dead at least twice but being the main character we know she won't die. And she quotes Shakespeare which annoyed me. If she had been quoting Shakespeare when someone shot her, that would have been something.
Troy, game warden, I like him but he too went along with Marcy even when he told her, a couple of times, not to do anything cop things. And every character have some sort of PTSD (Mercy, her dog Elvis, Troy, his dog Susie Bear) - why can't they have one wholesome main character? Or is it required that before working in law enforcement, they all have to adopt a tragic or depressing past? At least the dogs are more cheerful and more adjusted than their human owners.
The mystery was just okay but why was Mercy the only one to figure everything out? Troy is smart as shown by his actions, his boss is also smart and the detective though he may be an asshat, he is shown to have some intelligence so why was she the only one to figure out the mystery? So, yes, the main characters are usually the ones to solve the mysteries but why just her? Troy could also have figured it out but apparently they decided it's her show.
I came for the dogs and they are wonderful but I wish the humans were more deserving as dog owners. Even though I'm not a dog owner, I know giving your dog constant human food is probably bad for their digestion. I couldn't stand Mercy and her perfect ass so I'm not continuing the series now but perhaps later.
What's it about: cadaver dogs, police, crimes, murders, dog trainers
It seemed everyone got a memo to curse, use the f word as a mandatory character trait it seemed. I don't know why the excessive cursing but I guess that is this kind of world.
Mace (the main character) in the first person perspective is annoying. He told the reader twice, 'Hey, I'm a guy' and that's why he does these dumb things - not a good excuse. I don't like how he's sometimes sounds like he's talking to a friend and sometimes like he's making a finance report. I think he over-explained things especially about the dogs and their abilities but still did not do a good job at it.
There is too much of the killer's viewpoint. Readers know way more of this character than the main character - I don't care for it. Having his perspective meant zero suspense, zero curiosities as who the killer was and zero surprises because you know what he is going to do and how much he gloated and how stupid he made the main character seemed like - he's always a step ahead of Mace and the cops and everybody - it's like he's doing so well he might as well be the main character and readers should just root for him because he keeps winning until the very end.
The dog, Vira (short for Elvira) and the other three dogs are the ones I like but we don't get their perspectives but there is one tiny scene in Vira's perspective at the end but that was used to show the killer's fate so again, the killer got more page time than every damn character in the entire book.
I like Vira's ability to see death or something - they don't explain it well, that is, Mace didn't explain it well but I like to think she has visions of death and knows who the killer is. She could pinpoint the bad guy for sure but again, this wasn't explained well.
But I don't like this format - the main character's tells the story but then in between we have the killer's point of view - I hate this format - I really prefer not to be in the killer's head. I tried the second book, just nope.
Books I Unfinished:
What's it about: drug trafficking, drug mules, human trafficking, serial killers, deadly creepy spiders, scorpions, bugs & other critters, K-9 dogs, people who are bad at romances
Quit at: 65%
I probably should've stopped reading after the first few pages but stubborn me continued for no reason other than to get to the dog. This started with a girl swallowing condoms filled with cocaine - she's a drug mule. So much nitty-gritty stuff and some of them are way too detailed. And excessive use of spiders, scorpions, bugs & other critters - for example, O'Dell (I think she is one of the main characters though it was hard to tell since there are so many viewpoints and they are seemed like they are the main characters) got bitten by a whole bunch of scorpions, then a guy almost got bitten by two deadly snakes, then (I peeked farther down the book) cockroaches were invading one of the main character (Creed)'s home and also corpses showing up and having been killed by critters - supposedly this serial killer is using these critters to kill but it's way too much of them - they might as well be the other main characters.
The way it was written with lots of different perspectives and happenings (supposedly they all converge at the end) seemed like it went in too many directions and too many characters to follow and none of them seemed worthy enough to follow along aside from Creed's K-9 dog (Grace). Supposedly this is a spin-off a previous series with O'Nell as the main character and somehow this series have maybe too much O'Dell. I really think Creed is like a secondary character compare to her. And why do we need all those insights into a killer is beyond me.
Ryder Creed (not a fan of this name) is supposedly the main character (the series is named after him) but he seemed more like a side character - the book doesn't even start with him. Again, another character with a tragic background - Creed's sister went missing a long while ago and he's still trying to find her. The scene every reviewer had a problem with is when Creed encountered a drug mule (a girl with cocaine in her stomach) and she is sick as hell and would have been nice if he had taken her to a hospital or somewhere to get medical treatment but nope, he took her home (a few hours of driving) and they waited more hours even when he got her home before dealing with the issue - the girl could have dropped dead waiting - it's so ridiculous.
And though they are adults, Creed and O'Dell acted like hormonal teenagers with each other when they saw each other again after a break (supposedly they knew each other in the previous series with O'Dell) - grown adults who had past relationships, went through a lot stuff but still acted like teenagers around people they are attracted to/lusted after? This does not fit well with the tone, what's with everything so realistic and nitty-gritty and very grown up - this was silly and supposedly this is sexual tension which who would believe that? And then in the later scene, they kissed and continued on their none-relationship just like O'Dell had with another man - apparently she's so desirable men wanted her but she can't be with any of them but they just teeter-totter on like it's perfectly normal even though these relationships should be awkward since they all worked together so like's a mass idiot kind of society because none of them could make a decision or even speak of what they wanted.
Anyway, I stopped reading because I wasn't invested in the characters or in the story and even the drug-mule girl couldn't get my sympathy - it's like these people are trying very hard to be unlikable. The focus seemed to be more on drug and human trafficking, drug mules, serial killers, poisonous bugs and critters that killed people and two people (Creed & O'Nell) who are supposedly trying to solve these things. The dog, Grace, is really the only interest to me but she gets little page time.
What's it about: serial killer, dead bodies, cops, a medical examiner's boring life
Quit at: 37%
Scarpetta is a medical examiner but aside from doing autopsies, she also handled a lot of politics at her office and got involved in investigations but she still seemed rather dull as a human being except when she allowed her ten-year-old niece to drink alcohol twice and seemed glad that she fell asleep drinking it and also allowed her niece to use her computer where she could access investigation files - way to be a responsible adult. She also thought her sister should never be a mother. I didn't finish the book so maybe Scarpetta became a better adult or a more interesting human later in the book.
The central case is gruesome (rape and death) and they even tell you in details of how the crime could have happened from Scarpetta's mind but somehow the investigation was dull and slow. There's more detail than plot and Scarpetta as a character does not keep me interested enough to finish the book plus I find out how it ended and it was not worth finishing.
Have you read any good books lately?
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