No more knitting in the city

Neanderthal Seeks Human (Knitting in the City, #1)
by Penny Reid (Goodreads Author), Jennifer Grace (Narrator)

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

There are three things you need to know about Janie Morris: 
1) She is incapable of engaging in a conversation without volunteering TMTI (Too Much Trivial Information), especially when she is unnerved, 
2) No one unnerves her more than Quinn Sullivan, and 
3) She doesn’t know how to knit.

Unsecure woman who thinks that she is not much to look at, but is perceived as gorgeous by others. Check.
Blames herself for boyfriend cheating on her. Check.
Is generally TSTL. Check. 
And Sir Sexy McHotpants is generally too touchy/grabby and unreasonably jealous. Oh well.

It took till chapter 12 until the story developed into something slightly more interesting. Although, the fact that she does not get who he is until well past the middle of the book—it is such a lame gimmick, because it‘s so glaringly obvious. The rest of the story never gets off the beaten track. Some of the unresolved plot bunnies will presumably feature in the next book(s). It‘s hard to tell, as they just sort of dropped off the radar.

“… the Knitting in the City series. Each book is a standalone, full length (110k words), contemporary romantic comedy novel, and follows the misadventures and exploits of seven friends in Chicago, all members of the same knitting group.“

It sounded like a fun series, but it wasn’t. I am going to delete the next one, Neanderthal Marries Human, off my eReader and I will not pick up any of the others either. There was no chemistry—between the main characters or between the book and myself.

Thistlefoot — currently reading
by GennaRose Nethercott

In the tradition of modern fairytales like American Gods and Spinning Silvercomes a sweeping epic rich in Eastern European folklore–a debut novel about the ancestral hauntings that stalk us, and the uncanny power of story.

Anybody interested in Eastern European folklore has probably come across Baba Yaga and her chicken-legged hut before. My last encounter was when watching The Witcher. So colour me intrigued, when I read about the Yaga siblings, their inheritance of a house with chicken legs and a road trip. I had to go along.

The siblings come across as amicable characters, when they are introduced—a wood-working sister and her trickster-like brother. The Longshadow Man though is creepy right off the bat. I am about 20% into the book and still have a few hundred pages to go…

Currently reading

Yes, I am still around, but I haven‘t gotten a lot of reading done this week. It happens. What am I currently reading?

Ship of Destiny (Liveship Traders, #3)
by Robin Hobb

The third and last book of the LIveship Trader trilogy. Still reading the odd bit here and there. I think I am in chapter 8?

I like it, I am just a little over saturated with the whole thing. I am taking my time with this, as I am practically reading this trilogy back to back. I keep reading other, shorter books and novellas between chapters. 

Continues seamlessly from the end of Mad Ship. The sailors on the ships have to put up with a lot of casual and pointless violence. It‘s bothersome, but maybe not far off the reality of sailors on the sailing ships of the past. I wonder if it‘s really necessary to have a mate on board who brutalized sailors to keep discipline. And I wished that Althea and the other characters in charge didn’t take that practice as a given. It makes me like Althea a little less.

Neanderthal Seeks Human (Knitting in the City, #1)
by Penny Reid (Goodreads Author), Jennifer Grace (Narrator)

There are three things you need to know about Janie Morris: 
1) She is incapable of engaging in a conversation without volunteering TMTI (Too Much Trivial Information), especially when she is unnerved, 
2) No one unnerves her more than Quinn Sullivan, and 
3) She doesn’t know how to knit.

I thought this would be funny chicklit with lots of knitting, actually. Sigh. 3 hours to go on the audio, I can do it…. It‘s ok, at best. Very formulaic, not as funny as I had hoped. Predictable. Unsecure woman who thinks that she is not much to look at, but is perceived as gorgeous by others. Check. Blames herself for boyfriend cheating on her. Check. Is generally TSTL. Check. Really stupid. And Sir Sexy McHotpants is generally too touchy/grabby and unreasonably jealous. Oh well.

It took till chapter 12 until the story developed some interesting depth. Although, the fact that she does not get who he is until well past the middle of the book—it‘s so glaringly obvious, it is just such a lame gimmick. Sigh.

Thistlefoot
by GennaRose Nethercott

In the tradition of modern fairytales like American Gods and Spinning Silvercomes a sweeping epic rich in Eastern European folklore–a debut novel about the ancestral hauntings that stalk us, and the uncanny power of story.

Can‘t say much yet, I have only read the first chapter. My current NetGalley.

Anachronistic climate fic — the last days of the British Empire…

The Drowned World
by J.G. Ballard, Will Self (Introducer), James Boswell (Illustrator)

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

A look at the near future after an astronomical disaster, leading to a large-scale climate change and flooding of the world.

Very reflective, with great imagery and an interesting take on mental regression, brought on by nature returning to an earlier geological age. From my edition‘s introduction: “haunting tale of de-evolution amid the fetid swamps and submarine cities of a second Triassic Age…“

I liked the first half, aka the setting of the scene, but the later part felt a bit…. too slow and esoteric? 

Probably visionary at the time of publication, parts of this novella have not aged well. During the first three chapters I kept wondering how the details of this story would have looked like, if it had been written now instead of 60 years ago.

The way the black characters were depicted is problematic from today‘s point of view, with a pretty casual racism. And the only female character was stuck in the last century instead of 200 years in the future, reduced to her looks. Add some dinner jackets and this felt very much like the last days of the British Empire. I wonder if Ballard could not have come up with something less stereotypical and a more futuristic setting. All the technology, for example the diving equipment and the ships, definitely felt like the middle of the 20th century.

I liked the relationship between the three central characters, what little there was, but was also bored through wide stretches of this read. Finishing this was pure stubbornness.

Apparently a retelling of Joseph Conrad‘s Heart of Darkness. Which I have not read, so I can‘t say how it compares.

Blast from the past with Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb

Do you read romance? In that case you probably have come across Nora Roberts and her alter ego J.D. Robb. My mother loves the In Death series by Robb and in 2016 I finally got the first book of the series. Here is what I thought of it.

Naked in Death (In Death, #1) — read in 2016
by J.D. Robb

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Fairly stereotypical police procedural, with some futuristic gadgets and a love interest who is, at first, a suspect, as well as tall, dark, mysterious and the common alpha male of romance novels. I think the correct label is romantic suspense. The first book in the very successful In Death series by The Nora. My mum is a huge fan, so curiosity made me pick it up, to see what all the fuss is about.

I did not really like the relationship much at first between Eve and Roarke. He definitely had problems accepting her wishes, which bugged me. If you do not mind his consent issues, he’s fine as a romance MC. 

The world building could have been better. The gadgets and some futuristic concepts were not explained, so if they weren’t self-expalantory, you were left to guess. However, they only play a very small part in the story. If you want to read sci-fi with suspense, hands off this book.

This is mostly told from Eve’s view, third person. There is the odd change of POV, mostly to Roarke and sometimes to others. These changes are not well done and jarred me every time. It could be the formatting (or lack thereof), the various protagonists do all sound exactly the same as well, though.

The mystery wasn’t very gripping and, at least from the second half onwards, pretty predictable. 

The romance and sex were ok. Fairly tame, I like my nooky more explicit.

Bottom line: Ok, nothing gripping, as light entertainment on the side not bad. Decent writing. I wasn’t very happy with the early Roarke and his consent issues. I would recommend it and will probably read the next book in the series, to see where their romance goes.

---

PS: I never got the next book in the series and don‘t feel tempted to get back to this series.

And a long, long time ago I read two romance novels by Roberts…

Birthright by Nora Robert — read in 2003

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

5000 year old bones are found at a construction site in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Our heroine Callie, an archaeologist, comes to investigate. So does her ex-husband, annoying, but good-looking and charming Jake. And then a death occurs. Is the site cursed? And, least but not last, someone gives Callie some shocking news about her past that shake the foundations of her life.
If you are looking for a book with a serious archealogical twist, forget it. You are looking at a slightly upscale romance novel with a bit of mystery strewn in for added suspense. Not too trashy and quite a good read to relax after a hard day at work.

Three Fates by Nora Roberts — read in 2004

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Great fun! Roberts manages to give you low-brain-power entertainment, but with wit and a lot of humour, without getting too sloppy on the romance side of things. Did I mention steamy sex? 🙂

This is what the story is about: Three siblings embark on a quest to re-unite 3 parts of a mythical statue. They are not sure that it even exists, but they are determined to find out and try. From Ireland they travel to Eastern Europe, Helsinki, New York, to follow clues and find romance, adventure and a deadly enemy…

Out of this World by J.D. Robb, Laurell K. Hamilton, Susan Krinard, Maggie Shayne

And this one has been languishing on my bookshelf since 2015. Maybe next year?

Have you read anything by Roberts? What is your favourite?

Horror in the Arctic Circle

The Nox
by Joe White, Catriona Ward

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

“2045, the Arctic Circle. A crew of six aboard the research vessel, The Nox, embark upon a voyage through the melting ice and Arctic dark in search of the last of the polar bears. The mission represents a ray of hope in a world ravaged by climate change, but it quickly becomes clear that some on board are in search of more than bears….

Isolation and the disorientation of 24/7 darkness soon have the group losing their grip on reality – accidents, nightmares, or hauntings – no one can be sure, but the voyage seems cursed. For Professor Clara Fitzgerald, the mission quickly turns from conservation to survival as she realises that danger lurks not only out on the ice, but on The Nox itself.

The Nox is a nightmare fuelled SciFi thriller that asks how far is too far to save the world.“

From the blurb

A full-cast audiobook production of slightly under 4 hours of listening time. 

I was underwhelmed. The captain mumbled a lot and was hard to understand, quite a few sound effects where hard to puzzle out, there was too much unnecessary music. The overacting of the voice actors was not my thing either.

The story had potential, but was not developed in a meaningful way in those 4 hours. There were some good ideas, but nothing much was made of any of them. It was unsatisfactory. 

Nice cover though. Meh.

Geological pace…

How the earth works
by Michael E. Wysession

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Very elementary. If you are new to the topic or need a basic refresher about geology, Earth‘s history, physics, plate tectonics, volcanoes, etc., this is a good primer.

From the book blurb:

“How the Earth Works takes you on an astonishing journey through time and space. In 48 lectures, you will look at what went into making our planet – from the big bang, to the formation of the solar system, to the subsequent evolution of Earth.“
… charting the geologic forces that churn beneath our feet to push the continents and seafloor around… Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis are byproducts of our planet’s ceaseless activity, and you will focus on specific examples of each… how humans have transformed watersheds, leveled mountains, changed the balance of gases in the atmosphere, and caused the extinction of enough species to hasten the end of the 65-million-year-old Cenozoic era…“

The lectures start off with „Geology’s Impact on History“, „Geologic History—Dating the Earth“, „Earth’s Structure—Journey to Earth’s Center“. The we start to delve into some basic principles. 

Lectures 6 & 7 „Making Matter—The Big Bang and Big Bangs“ and „Creating Earth—Recipe for a Planet“ were pretty fun chapters. I think this is something I want to explore more in the future, aka how do planets and solar systems form? 

Recommended reading by Wysession:
– Hawking, A Brief History of Time. — I tried this when it was published and didn’t get far. Got a hardback version, now I just have to find the time.
– Tyson, Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries. — Tyson has a style I like, at least from watching him on screen. Tempted.
– Calvino, Cosmicomics
– Ferris, The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the-Universe Report

„The Rock Cycle—Matter in Motion“, „Minerals—The Building Blocks of Rocks“ and „Crystallization—The Rock Cycle Starts“ were pretty dry, but probably a necessary foundation for another fun lecture: Lecture 12 „Volcanoes—Lava and Ash“.

Lecture 15 „Plate Tectonics—Why Continents Move“ — this was probably the best explanation about the mechanics of plate tectonics that I have ever heard. Wysession is good a breaking it down with practical examples on any topic. Here one probably needs a video to watch him with his metal sheets, ice cubes in water etc., instead of just listening to the explanations.

Lecture 16 to 19 told me more about plate tectonics though than I ever wanted to know and I almost DNFd several times. I listened to most of lecture 20, „Continents Collide and Mountains are Made“, and started on lecture 21, „Intraplate Volcanoes“, before finally deciding to call it a day. 10.5 hours done, another 13-odd hours to go… the lecture format made this pretty dull and boring a lot of the time, although there were the above mentioned highlights as well. Maybe I will pick this up again at some point and make it to some more fun chapters, but for now I am done.

Some tea, dear?

Explorer (Foreigner, #6)
by C.J. Cherryh (Author), Daniel Thomas May (Narrator)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The finale of the second trilogy. And it was a great finale. Quite a lot of action, pretty exciting. Everything that came before this was a great read as well. I loved the look at language and how it works or could work, verbally and body language.

We are headed towards that abandoned space station and potentially aggressive aliens. And Cherryh takes us in an unexpected direction again. She gets me every time. There are politics again as well, but the machinations between Atevi, Mospheirans, ship crew and Bren in the middle don‘t seem as strenuous this time around. Or maybe I am getting used to Bren‘s daily navigation through diplomatic minefields.

Bren Cameron is a pretty settled character by now. I really liked his ongoing letters to those he left behind. Then there is Ilisidi with her no-nonsense attitude and adorable Cajeiri—great addition. I really like him and I can‘t wait to find out into what kind of adult he will develop in coming books. I laughed a lot at the toy car shenanigans. 

Did I mention the great action? And new aliens. Exciting and a great first contact situation.

And isn‘t it nice, how sharing food and polite company break down all those barriers? Some tea, dear?

“Jase-aiji suggests this maneuver will be extremely long, even days, and that for comfort and dignity—”
“No,” Ilisidi said abruptly. “We will not go below.”
“Nand’ dowager . . .”
“Interesting things happen here. Not there. If I were reckless of staff safety I would send after hot tea,” Ilisidi said. “I forego the tea. In that, I have taken my personal precautions and my staff is settled in safety.” 

I am a bit apprehensive about the next trilogy. Can it possibly be this good?

The pursuit of meaning and comfort

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)
by Becky Chambers

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Sibling Dex, a monk, searches for a new vocation and finds it in becoming a tea monk, caring for others. One day, when this somehow isn‘t enough anymore for Dex, they take off into the wilderness, where they meet Mosscap, a robot. Mosscap wants to find out what people need and more importantly, what Dex needs. They both go on a road trip of self-discovery, looking for meaning in life and comfort. A little philosphical, inspiring, relaxing.

This is the perfect novella for a slow day on the sofa with a mug of tea. I definitely felt that hug: Sending a Hug Into the World: A Conversation with Becky Chambers (podcast, 6 minutes of ads first)

“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.” 

Becky Chambers, A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Followed by A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk & Robot, #2). I am pretty sure that I will read this at some point.

During the first chapter Sibling Dex reminded me very much of the Cleric Chih. I know, Dex came first. But I only met them now. Who is this Cleric Chih you ask?

Candy Canes and Pine Cones and Epic and Awesome

Wolfsong (Green Creek #1)
by T.J. Klune

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Oh, this was so pretty. Feel good story, some drama, some action, some love, a witch and some werewolves. Lots of dialogue and inner monologue that made me feel good. What a joy to read. What a great take on werewolves and found family. Ok, yes, also some violence, cruelty, blood, murder…. It is a story with werewolves after all. And some really bad guys.

“And it was true. I was not cursed with an overabundance of brains.“

The plot was almost irrelevant, it was the relationships and the development that Ox went through that made the book for me. Such a lovable character…

The book has a nice amount of my type of humour. Definitely for mature readers though, there is plenty of swearing and some graphic sex.

I was not a massive fan of adult Joe or the romance between Ox and adult Joe. It was not bad, but for me it was the only weak part of the book. Still 5 stars though, because I had a stupid grin on my face the whole time I read this. I had a hard time putting this down for any length of time.

“Mom! Mom. You have to smell him! It’s like… like… I don’t even know what it’s like! I was walking in the woods to scope out our territory so I could be like Dad and then it was like… whoa. And then he was all standing there and he didn’t see me at first because I’m getting so good at hunting. I was all like rawr and grr but then I smelled it again and it was him and it was all kaboom! I don’t even know! I don’t even know! You gotta smell him and then tell me why it’s all candy canes and pinecones and epic and awesome.” 

My two previous reads by the author are How to Be a Normal Person and Tell Me It‘s Real. I still have to get to his more recent and famous offerings.

Canadian chick-lit with a little extra

The Stand-In
by Lily Chu, Phillipa Soo (Narrator)

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

“Gracie Reed is doing just fine. Sure, she was fired by her overly “friendly” boss, and yes she still hasn’t gotten her mother into the nursing home of their dreams, but she’s healthy, she’s (somewhat) happy, and she’s (mostly) holding it all together.

But when a mysterious SUV pulls up beside her, revealing Chinese cinema’s golden couple Wei Fangli and Sam Yao, Gracie’s world is turned on its head. The famous actress has a proposition: due to their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. The catch? Gracie will have to be escorted by Sam, the most attractive—and infuriating—man Gracie’s ever met.“

It was ok. The story is fairly predictable. The chemistry between Gracie and Sam Yao is not exactly sizzling. It‘s a mellow enemies-to-lovers. Not exactly enemies and an eventually very vanilla kind of lovers.

I liked the perspective of a mixed-race character and how she is perceived and treated by others. And how hard it can be for celebrities to be objectified by their fans and having to live with a complete loss of privacy. This and some other themes added a little extra to the usual romance plot.

There is the required misunderstanding towards the end, etc etc. The characters are not too silly about it. If you are looking for an unchallenging romance without big surprises, this does the trick. Enough other topics are touched briefly to keep it interesting.

Would I pick up something else by the author? Maybe, if I came across it cheaply. Yes, this was an audible freebie (for subscribers).