Laughter Through Tears

I finished The Innocent Sleep, the latest October Daye novel, as well as the novella at the back of Sleep No More, which was from Reysel's point of view. I still haven't finished the Luidaeg novella that came with Be the Serpent, though. That's probably next.

Otherwise, I've been venting my anxiety by reading villainess-themed webtoons, such as The Perks of Being a Villainess, in which a soft-touch Korean engineering student learns about self-respect by assuming the role of a mean rich girl. It reminds me a little of Death Is the Only Ending for the Villainess, in that the protagonist is quite self-interested and the male love interest seems to like that about her. Also, for spoiler reasons. On a shallower note, I really like her purple hair.

I'm all (or mostly) caught up on the October Daye books, up to Be the Serpent (and part of the story that's attached at the end). Usually, the most recent book of the series is about 20$ on Kobo, where the older ones are about 8$, but the next book (Sleep No More) comes out in September, so I guess that's soon enough.

I'll be in NYC not long after it releases, which means I can buy it in a physical bookstore. In hardcover, probably. I might be tempted, given the magnitude of the cliffhanger. Of course, in her infinite wisdom, Seanan Macguire is releasing two Toby Daye books this year, and the second one won't be out until after I'm back home. Even assuming I'm prepared to buy two hardcovers.

But if I'm not up-to-date on the series, I won't feel comfortable offering it for Yuletide.

And god, that cliffhanger.

Ashes of Honor: Toby battles an unscrupulous duchess and a superpowered teen. Good, enjoyable, mostly satisfying ending with one moderately infuriating loose end. Romance kicks up a notch.

Chimes at Midnight: Toby stops pretending that she doesn't meddle in politics. She's knee-deep in it, now. Adds several new characters that I am very into. Also puts Toby through the ringer like, a ridiculous amount, even for this series. The "seems OP, please nerf" installment. Also notable for leaning its entire premise on what seemed to be a throwaway detail two books ago.

The Winter Long. author's foreword says something about this book's plot being the first she came up with, or else somehow or other the axis on which the plot turns. It's... certainly that thing. I found it infuriating for several reasons. It does resolve moderately well, but it filled me with feelings of, "this is not how I want to feel when I reak a book". It's hard to explain more clearly without spoiling.

A Red-Rose Chain: Toby's continued adventures in still kind pretending like she doesn't do politics, which is a naked, shameless lie. A lot happens in this book. Consequences are had by all. A very interesting issue is raised re: the use of Toby's magic. I found it the most satisfying of the four, overall.

Once Broken Faith: I just started this one, but the title seems promising.

There are four full-length novels that follow, and they come out at the rate of roughly one per year. I wonder whether I will be able to keep up the streak. And if not, what I should leaven it with, to keep from getting tone fatigue. Maybe it's time to catch up on the Attolia books. Or dig back into the 2019 Hugos trove, which I barely skimmed the surface of.

I NEED THIS BOOK.

"If you like Norse mythology, dragons, atypical characters, and non-stop action, you’re sure to enjoy the roller coaster ride that is Black Blade Blues."

GREAT GOOGLY MOOOGLY, I NEED THIS BOOK.

I was planning on doing things today and instead I didn't do anything, so have a review instead.

Last week I finished reading Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead and I have mixed feelings about it. I went into this hoping that this might be the One True Urban Fantasy Series that I could fall in love with, and maybe some of my enjoyment was detracted by wanting this to be a book that it just couldn't be. Then again, maybe I cut this book too much slack because I wanted to like it.

First things first: the back cover blurb is terrible. It jumps ahead of itself in terms of one of the romantic plotlines, which I would have preferred to read as it unfolded with no previous knowledge. It oversells the "Sex and the City with agents of hell" angle of the book (as several reviews I read already noted), which is really a fairly small aspect of the book. However, it is quite interesting in the way it unintentionally revealed to me one of the major themes of the book. Now, this might be one of those things where I read way too much into something that the author never intended, but in this case, I rather doubt it.

Georgina Kincaid is a succubus, and she is pathetic. ( Some spoilers follow, but then suspense is not what you'd want to read this book for. )

Anyway. Yeah.

"Apparently, even immortal shape-shifting warriors disliked having meat stuck in their teeth."

Just got Tiger Eye in the mail, started it late Thursday night and it is currently weighing in at awesome.

On the topic of werewolves and paranormal romance, I just stumbled upon this creative review of two popular PR series about women shapeshifters. It's pretty solidly informative. For example, it highlights something that's been bothering me for a while.

( Spoilers? Or is it too predictable to count? )