What I'm reading #3

 It finally feels like spring is here! It's been a hectic couple of weeks, but I did manage to squeeze in some reading time.


What are you currently reading?

I'm still in the middle of Quiet by Susan Cain and A Place of Execution by Val McDermid, but slightly further ahead in both.

I also picked up Dangerous Waters by Juliet E McKenna. It's been on my to request from the library list for ages, and so far it is not disappointing me at all. I'm actually enjoying it which is a marked difference from the last two fantasy books I've read.

What did you recently finish reading?

Frankly, it's been a crap week or so for books. (Spoilers for Fade to Black by Francis Knight and Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George.)

The best of the bunch was The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook. I liked a lot of the ideas, and the book wasn't bad, but I never really connected with any of the characters despite wanting to. The greatest feeling I got from the book was disappointment, and I don't think I'll bother with any of the others in the series.

I didn't actually finish Fade to Black by Francis Knight. I picked it up to finish it, and the main character intensely annoyed me again so I decided there was no point in forcing myself to carry on. I feel like the book could have been so good - the initial worldbuilding and set up had me quite excited, but it quickly degenerated into the outsider comes in and does a better job than the resistance and saves everyone. By itself that could have been okay, but the main character was an unlikeable arsehole who kept reminding the reader that he didn't know why he was bothering and didn't want to care, and the women were divided into two types: those who wanted to sleep with the main character and vengeful harpies. Oh sorry I forgot the third type: cold hearted bitch. (I had to go check the book was actually written by a woman.) Annoyed is probably my greatest feeling from reading this one.

I didn't properly finish Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George either. I skimmed it again, and my thoughts of disappointment, why am I forcing myself to read this? were confirmed. I do think it was a little better than This Body of Death as it did suck me in at parts but there wasn't an actual murder in it. That, and the random fat shaming of characters that were essentially stage dressing were majorly disappointing. I don't think I'll even go into the main characters because I just want to throw things when I think about them. I can feel the need to rewatch the TV series come on again, where there is actual consistent character development, and it doesn't give the impression that the author hates one character and uses another as an author stand in.

I did perk up at the idea presented at the end of the book that the next one would be a proper Barbara book, but my hopes were dashed when I read the blurb for it. The worst of it is, I'm still probably going to skim read it. :(

What do you think you’ll read next?

Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis I think, though Elizabeth Bear's Shattered Pillars is making it's way to the library for me. Maybe both since it's a long weekend.