I have never considered my comments on books to count as “reviews”. They’re just my thoughts and feelings on the book I’ve recently finished. In the case of The Ring of Allaire this is even more true than usual as I barely talk about the contents of the book (a lovely and charming tale, it might perhaps be considered a little “old-fashioned” these days), and instead reflect on how reading it made me feel.

I had been looking forward to rereading this ever since I discovered Susan Dexter had updated it and released it as an ebook. It took me long enough to get to it that I now have all three in the trilogy waiting on my Kindle (or technically up on Amazon ready for me to download to my Kindle whenever I’m ready). I have fond memories of reading the series back when it came out in the 1980s and while it was more a case of feelings than specific memories, that was enough to make me want to read them again.

I was surprised by how slowly I read this – it took me two weeks, with other books read at the same time – which is unusual for me. And I wasn’t reading slowly because I was bored or not enjoying myself, but more because that just became the pace that seemed appropriate. It turned into a leisurely read, and perhaps that’s just what I needed over the summer holidays. (I’m also very tired right now, so again, maybe leisurely was best.)

For all that I read it slowly, I really did enjoy it. The story built and felt very familiar, for all that it must be 25 years or something since I read it. Here I mean familiar is a good way, just as I mean leisurely in a good way. It was a warm and relaxing read over a most un-summery two weeks of summer and that turned out to be perfect.

I remembered most of the characters pretty well (but I forgot Minstrel – how could I possibly forget darling little Minstrel, the canary) and I knew what the twist at the end was going to be, but that didn’t hurt the story at all. Instead, it was interesting to watch the progress of plot and characters already knowing it, as I hadn’t on my first reading. I don’t think it changed my reading of the book (it certainly didn’t change my feelings for the book), but it did leave me feeling justified about which characters I preferred, which I guess means the author did her job well.

1981 pb cover

I had no idea, while reading, what Ms Dexter might have changed and what she left the same. I have my paperbacks down stairs (and their covers are so much prettier than these self-published new editions, but I can’t blame the author for that as I assume she doesn’t have the rights to use the paper editions’ covers) and I could have gone and checked it out, but I didn’t feel any need to do that. I just followed the story and enjoyed it.

I’m looking forward to moving on to book two, but as with the reading of this one, I’m not feeling desperate to rush into it (which is good, since I started the 900-odd page Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb today). Instead, I’m feeling decidedly leisurely about it. In this harried day and age, there often isn’t much time for leisurely any more. Many thanks to Susan Dexter for allowing me to rediscover it with her charming trilogy.

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When I went to change the “Currently Reading” widget back to The Splendour Falls, I had to go back to Goodreads to get the page link for it and I saw there was a new cover showing up, one that matches the very pretty covers that I prefer. I had to hunt around a bit for it – it didn’t show up on Amazon.com at all, but I found it as a pre-order on Amazon.co.uk with a release date of 30th April, 2012. At the moment it only shows as a paperback, but I’m hoping an ebook edition will turn up as well.

I’m not sure if I like it as much as some of the others or not, but I definitely like it better than the very 1980s-looking painting of a castle that is the cover I had up before. I do think it suits Emily and the slightly ghostly feeling of the story rather well.

The Splendour Falls

I’ve updated my Author Reads page for Susanna Kearsley with this cover as it matches most of the others ones best. If they keep this up, they will be a full matching set and then the books will make it into my Dream Library as well.

I was planning a quiet rereading January for the rest of the month, but now I have a bunch of other things to read, so I can finish them and send them back. And, of course, they’re all those big, heavy things made out of paper where if you fall asleep while reading one, it drops onto you face and breaks your nose.

There’s also a kind of unofficial read-a-long happening at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books where the amazing DocTurtle takes on the challenge of reading romace books Sarah chooses for him. Apparently we’re going to get the first couple of chapters of Meljean Brook’s The Iron Duke in the next few days. Since I have the book but have never read it, this seemed to be a good (and hopefully amusing) opportunity to see what I think of it. However, it’s also not a reread.

I think perhaps it will have to be a Library Books (+ The Iron Duke) January followed by a Rereads February (at least February has 29 days this year).

Of maybe not. I’ll pick up the books from the library and decide as I go along.

I saw this one recommended on Dear Author some time last year. The fact is was written by a New Zealander and set it New Zealand attracted me, as did the librarian/ex-rock star pairing. All the same, I never got around to reading it.

I don’t remember what made me decide to request it just before Christmas, but I did and it turned up at the library for me. Again, I didn’t get around to reading it. I was going to take it back, but something made me renew it instead.

So on Sunday, I finally got around to starting it. And I sat there, ignoring my poor, home-on-holidays, child and read through to the end.

This is a very fun read. I enjoyed the local setting and both main characters. I found Rachel and her backstory to be strong and her responses both to her past and Devin to be pretty realistic. I’m not so sure about Devin, but he was such a fun character that I didn’t care how realistic the idea of an ex-rock star at Auckland University was.

The sub-plot with Mark, and both Rachel’s reaction to her and later, his to her revelation, held true. However, I did feel that he started to take over the story towards the end and while he was the catalyst that brought Rachel and Devin back together, it felt a little bit like he was getting in the way.

There were some lovely little sub-plots that didn’t have the opportunity to be fleshed out as much as I might have liked because of the length of the work. That’s actually high praise rather than a criticism as Karina Bliss manages to make such points an enjoyable part of the story, despite the restricted word count. I’m especially thinking of Devin’s mother’s shoes under the bed and the introduction of Matthew; at single title length they could have been given full secondary status, but here’s there’s not room. I was delighted by them and their presence in the story all the same.

I’m not sure how many luxury private planes with the capability to fly of New Zealand to LA are ever on the ground at Auckland airport (but I don’t live in those kinds of circles, so what am I to say what the reality is) but I was perfectly happy to let that slide as part of the story.

I would have liked a slightly more solid ending; somehow it felt a bit wishy-washy, even though it fitted the characters very well. I think that’s very much a case of “it’s me, not you” as I don’t even know how I’d have liked it done differently, as as a bit more time passes since I finished the book, the happier I am with the ending.

I would like to know how things turned out with Zander in the long run, but that’s a minor plot point and doesn’t really need further clarification. It’s just that the completist in me wants to know.

I’d be perfectly willing to read Karina Bliss again. And to recommend this to anyone wanting a pleasant romance with some mild angst. A very good read.

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And so my first read for 2012 ends up being a Doctor Who novel.

I saw this on a stand at the library last week and grabbed it just as I was about to leave. It sat on the shelf with the other library books and I forgot about. I saw it there yesterday and thought I’d pick it up.

It’s been a hard couple of weeks for me, with my 7 year old with ADHD at home for the summer holidays and my CFS dragging me down. I don’t think I could read anything complicated if I tried. I’m slowly rereading Susan Dexter’s The Ring of Allaire, which I’m enjoying, but it’s usually only a few pages or a short chapter at a time.

Therefore a Doctor Who novel, the first for the 11th Doctor, which I knew was aimed at family audiences, seemed a perfect option.

This is, indeed the first novel for the 11th Doctor, and I suspect that very little (or possibly none) of Matt Smith’s interpretation of the role had been seen by the author at the time he was writing. He does his best, and there are moments where the Doctor does seem something like the Doctor, but he just doesn’t quite get it right. I don’t blame him for this – I’ve had 2 full seasons and 2 Christmas specials of Matt Smith’s Doctor and love him inside and out (which is why I grabbed this when I saw it in the first place).

The thing that jarred was mainly his portrayal of the Doctor self-consciously telling jokes and having them fall flat. Maybe that was an idea that fell by the wayside as the 11th Doctor developed, but it doesn’t feel right now. Otherwise, both the Doctor and Amy felt kind of generic. But as I said, I don’t think the author can really be blamed for that.

As for the story, it was a fun read. Not earth-shattering or mind-boggling, but that wasn’t what I was looking for. The idea of the poor people dying of asphyxiation in the park as it linked to the moon, combined with the astronaut appearing in the shopping mall trailing moon dust made for a great start. A solid, enjoyable story followed, leaving me glad of my impulse borrow from the library.

I’ve requested the next few 11th Doctor novels from the library and I plan (within borrowing limits) to keep them around for when a light read is required. I’ll also be interested to see if the characterisation of both the Doctor and Amy improve as they become more familiar to the authors. (Also, bring on Rory as a charcter in the novels, because I totally love him.)

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The sad news is that Jeannie has just announced on her website that she doesn’t have a publisher for Book 3. Since the best way to encourage someone to pick up the book is to buy copies of the first two, I’m recommending them here and hoping you consider supporting a very enjoyable series.

Alexandra Sabian #1: Blood Law

Blood Law

Alexandra Sabian, Book 1

To stop a vampire killer, she’ll have to slay her own demons first. A provocative and savvy vampire, Alexandra Sabian moves to the sleepy hamlet of Jefferson, Mississippi—population 6,000, half vampires—to escape the demons lurking in her past. As an enforcer for the Federal Bureau of Preternatural Investigations (FBPI), Alex must maintain the uneasy peace between her kind and humans, including Jefferson’s bigoted sheriff, who’d be happy to see all vampires banished from town. Then really dead vamps start turning up—beheaded, crucified, and defanged, the same gruesome manner in which Alex’s father was murdered decades ago. For Alex, the professional has become way too personal.

Things get even more complicated when the FBPI sends in some unnervingly sexy backup: Alex’s onetime mentor, lover, and fiancé, Varik Baudelaire. Still stinging from the betrayal that ended their short-lived engagement, Alex is determined not to give in to the temptation that soon threatens to short-circuit her investigation. But as the vamp body count grows and the public panic level rises, Varik may be Alex’s only hope to stop a relentless killer who’s got his own score to settle and his own bloody past to put right.

I gave this one a 8/10 and was very impressed with the start of this new series. You can read my review here.

Alexandra Sabian #2: Blood Secrets

Blood Secrets

Alexandra Sabian, Book 2

WHEN ALEXANDRA SABIAN SINKS HER TEETH INTO AN INVESTIGATION, SHE DOESN’T LET GO.

Alex allowed a case involving murdered vamps to get personal and is suspended from the Federal Bureau of Preternatural Investigation. Now she’s facing an official inquiry but has a chance to redeem herself. The catch: She must once again work with Varik Baudelaire, her former mentor and ex-fiancé, as he spearheads a search for a missing college student. But Varik has been keeping secrets from Alex, and his mysterious past is on a collision course with his present.

When Alex and Varik discover a carefully handcrafted doll at a crime scene, neither of them can see how close the danger really is or that a killer known as the Dollmaker has made Alex the object of his horrific desire. Now the only way out of the Dollmaker’s lair is through the twilight realm of the Shadowlands, where all secrets—for better or worse—will be revealed.

When I looked a little closer, I was delighted to see them listed as March Kindle releases. “Hooray!” I thought and clicked through to preorder them on the spot. I got to Amazon.com to find the ever awful “not available” page. When I did a search, none of them showed up.

“Oh dear,” I thought. “That’s not good.”

I signed out of my NZ based account and took another look. Still nothing. (Damn IP addresses.) I signed into a US based account I have access to (but can’t buy anything using), and there they were.

Not only are those three books coming out on 15th March, but on 31st January a number of other backlist books are released (no covers so far, but hopefully they will match the others).

• The Homeward Bounders
• Cart and Cwidder
• Power of Three
• Aunt Maria (aka Black Maria)
• The Spellcoats
• The Crown of Daelmark
• Drowned Ammett
• The Time of the Ghost

I am so frustrated (and very, very annoyed) about this. I want to give the publisher and the author’s estate money to buy these books. My money is as good as anyone else’s but they won’t take it. It is so unbelievably, [insert swear word] stupid.

It’s insane.

I admit however, that I did keep a spreadsheet of what I bought and what I read. I kept it private and for myself, although I did try to record what I read on here. As you’ve probably noticed, I didn’t always manage it. I’ve felt I can’t post a finish here if I don’t say something about it, and often it’s all I can do to read the book, let along marshall coherent thoughts about what I thought of it.

So for the record, in 2011 I read 100 books and 28 shorter stories, making a total of 128. I don’t know if I should write down how many books I bought in case Dave reads this. (<whisper>It was 298.</whisper>)

Goodreads provides a very nice visual picture of the year’s reading statistics. The total number doesn’t match mine because it includes books I officially didn’t finish (those are the ones with 0 stars – I had 6 of them this year) and doesn’t include all the shorts since they’re not all available on the Goodreads site. All the same, it’s a good overall view (click to enlarge).

There were 20 books I rated as 10/10 (5 stars in the image above). Of those 12 were new reads and 8 were rereads. I’m happy with that balance. While I definitely need to buy fewer new books, I really enjoy going back to an old favourite and loving it all over again.

Now, let’s see what 2012 holds. I’m hoping to reread more old favorites. More and more are being released as ebooks (often as they authors of my favourite books for the 80s get their rights back or choose to self-publish electronically since they never sold those rights) and that makes rereading them so much easier.

I think the odds are in my favour with nine days to go. What shall I choose for my 100th book?

My outrageously huge TBR list is here. I’m tossing up between trying to finish The Hare with Amber Eyes, reading the last Cat and Bones book, One Grave at a Time, or choosing something totally different fromt he TBR list. Any suggestions are welcome.