Elements of Magic by Sharon Shinn et al

It is hard for me to say whether I actually read this book. It contained four novellas. I read three of them. I started the fourth and found it clear that I wasn't going to like it, so I didn't read the rest of it. srl would probably say, "Did you get the idea of the book? Could you explain it to someone?" and the answer to that is definitely yes, so I guess I did read it. The Sharon Shinn story, "Bargain With the Wind," was my favorite. Three stars. If you like romantic fantasy, well, I recommend To Weave a Web of Magic instead.

1st to Die by James Patterson

For the past few months, 7j and I have been watching the show Women's Murder Club, which is based on Patterson's series of novels. 1st to Die is the first of those. (I like a series where it's easy to tell which book is next!) 7j picked it up to read herself, and then was kind enough to pass it on to me. This mystery features four strong, confident women who solve murders together (although the fourth woman is not introduced until halfway through the book). It is a quick, fast-paced read - the pages seem to almost turn themselves - and there are many interesting twists and turns. I had an idea of the whodunit, but I didn't figure out everything! If you like mysteries with strong female leads, you should definitely give this one a try. Three stars, and I'm planning to continue with the series.

Great Fiction of 2007 - part one of two

This was a good year for books. I read 216 books as of 1st to Die books this year, and 20 of them were five-star - almost ten percent! For those who aren't familiar with my rating series, four stars means "I would read this book over and over," and five stars means that the book changed my life or its genre in some way. Also, "of 2007" means that I read it in 2007 - it may not have been published then.

In front of the cut is a list of the books with links to my full-length reviews, written shortly after I read them. Behind the cut you will find an annotated list with shorter descriptions of each book. You'll also find some 'read-alikes' to try if you've already read the book and the list of four-and-a-half star books. (The read-alikes aren't in the long reviews, since I've only just come up with them.)

Five-Star Fiction of 2007

Blood Song: A Wordless Ballad by Erik Drooker
Soon I Will Be Invincible: A Novel by Austin Grossman
Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks
Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
Strangers in Paradise: I Dream of You by Terry Moore
Buffy Season Eight by Joss Whedon et al
Parrotfish by Ellen Whittlinger

( Read more... )