Review: 25 Followers & 100 Reviews Giveaway

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25 Followers & 100 Reviews Giveaway

Yay! I finally met my follower goals, and at around the same time I have completed 100 reviews. Not bad for just over half a year. I’m a little amazed I’m still blogging, but I’ll just keep on going while I still have the momentum. So far I’ve discovered some new pretty nifty authors, and enjoyed rediscovering some old favourites. I’ve just registered a new domain www.thecosydragon.com , so please update your RSS readers accordingly.

I will be having this giveaway through The Book Depository, so if you’re entering, please make sure that they ship to you. 

To Enter – I was originally going to do this by hand, but thought it might get out of hand! So please find a Rafflecopter link below. You need leave what book you want, as well as your email address. You can always change the book later.

The prize – if you win, you have the freedom to select any one of the books I have reviewed in my last 100 reviews! For a quick look by cover of what I have reviewed, there is an album on the Facebook page (First 100 Reviews) for you to browse.

Duration – this giveaway will be open for a period of 2 weeks from the 3rd of August to the 16th of August (Australian time).

If I reach 250 followers during the period of this giveaway, I will give away a second book under the same rules.

ENTER HERE: 

DON’T FORGET:
YOU NEED TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL AND WHAT BOOK YOU WANT TO WIN
(both of these are options are in the Rafflecopter for you to easily fill out)

Review: Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon – Chrome Circle

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Chrome Circle
Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon
Tannim’s been given his marching orders to visit his family and pick up a new worker for his home elves. Little does he know there is a woman on his case and hunting him down with a vengeance. Or is it really a woman? Is he really being hunted?
This novel is another thrilling instalment in the SERRAted Edge series. Tannim is a car mage and a race car driver but he’s also the human contact for a whole conclave of elves.
Shar! Ah, once again Lackey have succeeded with retelling things from multiple perspectives yet still keeping the narrative line clear and enjoyable. So very enjoyable. Perhaps I would have liked a little more balance from the bad elves, but otherwise it’s very good.
Not much in the way of character development in this book, but the character relationships are good. I think this may be the first time we really see a dragon, let alone three dragons! The fox spirits are also a nice touch, and it’s good to see FX getting some recognition even if he’s a bit of a scamp. I have to say FX provides most of the light relief in this case.
This book moves at a swift pace and you’ll find it difficult to put down at almost any stage. I have to say I guiltily kept reading past my bed time and during study time (even though I had read it before). The ending still came as a bit of a surprise, as I didn’t remember Thomas’ role at all!
The ending is something that you won’t have seen coming. Although others may be bored by the inevitable journey Shar and Tannim take through the world, I found it fascinating. Lackey’s showing off her knowledge and research into the different story myths of our times, and it’s something I really enjoy.
Much to my discomfort (and annoyance), after finishing this book, I realised that I should have read ‘The Other World’ first. Sometimes I get so confused about which books to read first in these series, particularly as it also overlaps with Eric the Bard and Diana Tregarde series. Anyway, don’t make my mistake if you’re reading them, get ‘The Other World’ first if you can.
I’d recommend this part of ‘The Chrome Borne’ for adults and teenagers alike. Although there are hints of sexual activity, it’s nothing pervasive. Perhaps the most important message in this novel is the importance of home and family, even when you have grown up.

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Review: Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon – Born to Run

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Born to Run
Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon
I seem to have lapsed into comforting fiction again. I don’t know what exactly is comforting about a human mage that can protect his race car by magic, an urban elf that has a sot spot for children and a porn ring that has a lot more going on than you can imagine…

Tannim is a race car driver, but he’s mixed up with elves and other fun things. His weakness is a poor leg and also that he wants to protect children, just like the elves. He’s a likeable character, with proper flaws that make him seem real and believable.

The main character of Tannim better be believable, because the rest of this novel is pretty unbelievable. There are elves on the loose in USA! Not to mention ghosts, dragons and other otherworldly creatures. It’s well known that elves have a weakness for cold iron, and it’s fascinating the way that Lackey and Dixon produce ways around that.
It’s nice that Lackey & Dixon don’t feel that everything has to turn out perfectly. People are allowed to die, things can turn messy in a heartbeat and battles feel like they have a real element of danger. You find yourself on the edge of your seat so quickly and you can’t stop reading.
I think one of my favourite characters is Sam, the old engineer. He’s so quirky and quick! I also have always had a soft spot for the Irish, and Sam’s a good old irish breed. Sam takes everything in his stride. Soda siphon here we come!
Something you won’t see from Sam or Tannim is character development. Rather, their characters are very consistant, just as I would want from adult characters. The children on the other hand harden up very quickly, and do change. The storyline involving Jamie is particularly sad.
I can’t emphasise enough how complicated, but also at the same time, simple, this plot is. It’s told from several perspectives, so it’s possible to get a balanced view on most of the characters. There are so many different things going on, and it seems like the bad elves are the only ones that are aware of the majority of things. It really worked for me.
I would recommend this book for adults, probably not teenagers, as there is detailed descriptions of drug use and the various things involved in making snuff and child porn.
I ‘borrowed’ this book from the Baen Books online library, although I also own a hard copy.

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Review: Eleanor Dark – Prelude to Christopher

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Prelude to Christopher
Eleanor Dark
This modernist novel is a classic of Australian literature that is not talked about nearly enough. It is a discussion of the effects of eugenics in the 1930s Australia, as well as the hereditary nature of madness.
875910The beginning of this novel starts off interestingly enough, with Nigel being injured in a car crash. We are then almost immediately introduced to the fragmented consciousness of Linda, his wife. Things get progressively more melodramatic from there though.
I have to confess I didn’t finish reading this text. The modernist style and flow of consciousness style really wasn’t up my alley. I had to read it and write an essay on it on how modernism and realism developed in Australian literature. I have to say it’s not one of my better essays at all.
It took me ages to work out that Dark was the surname of the author who wrote the book! Well, not ages, but I was confused for a bit, when I was searching to buy it online. The cover certainly fits in with the Dark theme don’t you think?
I think the most interesting thing about this novel was that the time progression is really strange (modernism!!). The book is officially set out into 4 parts of 4 days, but the time period covered within is much more than that due to flashbacks.
When reading about this novel, I found it interesting that Dark took a long time to write it because she was dealing with raising a small child, and she felt that it was impossible to write while trying to look after him during the day. Perhaps that is where the idea of Linda’s desire for a child comes from. The idealism in the text is said to come from the ideas of Dark’s own husband.
I’m unable to give you a link to buy this text, as it seems to be out of print everywhere (much to the dismay of my literature teacher). I got mine from a friend who had previously studied the unit. If you live in Australia, and want to read it, you’re welcome to my copy!

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Review: Mercedes Lackey – The Lark and the Wren

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The Lark and the Wren
Mercedes Lackey
Rune is a young woman who is excellent at fiddling. She is trapped in a deadend situation with a prostitute for a mother and no marriage prospects to speak of. But who said Rune wanted to get married? What she wants to do is become a professional musician, though she is unlikely to get there. Or is she? A poorly thought out bet later, and she’ll either be dead or on her way to glory.

The Lark and the Wren is the first book in the Bardic Voices/Choices series. I have also reviewed another book in this series The Eagle and the Nightingales. I read this particular copy online, as part of the Baen fiction online free books series. There are a number of Mercedes Lackey titles there, all relatively good ones. With the exception of one, I have read them all before. This book is one of my favourites, but to my disgust the other books in the series have not been republished for quite some time.

This novel was adapted from a short story in ‘Fiddler Fair’, which was a short story collection by Mercedes Lackey. That short story I didn’t read until after I had read the novel form. Of the two, I think I prefer the novel because it has more depth (naturally!).
This piece of fiction was a breath of fresh air after the last set of books that I reviewed. The storyline is engaging, and the characters fleshed out. The difference is that Lackey makes it seem as if the various climax points are part of the novel, not just random events thrown in.
Rune is a strong character who is relatively flexible. Something I want to complain about is that Lackey lapses into stereotypes with her relationship later. Rune couldn’t care less about getting married, yet she does anyway. Also, Talaysen is the one that gets special training, not Rune, when it was Rune that originally discovered the magic. The conversations she has with her partner are very detailed, and logically show their thought processes without chopping and changing the perspective of the novel, or engineering a situation where they can discuss it. And at the end, the very end, I feel that Rune is very unkind to her partner! I mean, I’m sure he will love being a dad, but to sneak it up on him in a couple of months time?
The perspective changes in this novel are lovely. In the copy I read, only the chapter markings were clear, and so I didn’t actually get an idea of when the character perspective changed. For the first two thirds of the novel it is purely from Rune’s perspective anyway. Certainly between the Lark (Rune) and the Wren (Talaysen) the changes while they are travelling are smooth, and I didn’t really notice it.
Something I love about this book is the theme of learning music. There are other things I love too, such as Rune narrowly escaping rape, and being very practical about most things, but that’s probably my favourite. As Rune learns her new instrument, she has to learn how to read music too. I cannot remember learning to read sheet music because i was a child, but I can imagine that it is more difficult as a late teen / adult. Lackey captures how most people feel after a new lesson quite well. It’s nice that Rune doesn’t take to a second instrument immediately because she is such a natural on her fiddle!
There are several storyline peaks in this novel, and to give you them all would spoil reading it. It’s pretty amazing how much trouble Rune can get into. Although it’s not all from one excitement to the next, Lackey certainly maintains your interest in the novel. And the transitions are so smooth! I can’t rave about those enough after the trash I have read lately.
I’d recommend this book for teens and adults alike. Although there are sexual themes, violence and prejudice they are not in a positive light and they actually teach something! The sexual themes are not particularly graphic either. This book is one of my favourites that I have read multiple times, and probably will read again.

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 Or alternatively you can get an ereader copy from Baen Books.5star

Review: Ellen Guon – Bedlam Boyz

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Bedlam Boyz
Ellen Guon
Kayla has run away from home. It’s not great, but at least she hasn’t gotten into being pimped out yet and she has a home. Kayla has been having increasingly worse headaches though, and when confronted with a bullet wound she discovers that she can heal it. It’s a valuble talent in the gang ridden LA district, and Kayla is suddenly hot property.
538125Kayla isn’t really sure what she is doing, except when she is doing it! Kayla quickly has to adapt (yay, character progression) to being able to heal. She has to stop herself healing eventually or she will burn out. I find it fascinating that she is able to sap energy from Ramon. How awesome would it be if healing actually worked like that?
The elves in this series, as well as Kayla, feed very nicely into the other books in the Bedlam’s Bard series. This book was actually written after Knight of Ghosts and Shadows. Ria and Kayla are both reoccurring characters, although this is the book that really offers the most insight into Kayla’s character.
I wasn’t convinced that the Unseelie elven queen would have let her go just like that, or that Kayla could have picked up that she was being poisoned from such a long way away. I would have liked a little more depth there, particularly into the Unseelie world. I wanted to know exactly why it was decaying! And why they didn’t make more of an effort to save themselves. I’m not sure if these exact eleves appear in the other novels.
This book lacks some of the polish that is seen in other books of this series, perhaps because it is not coauthored by Mercedes Lackey. It’s an enjoyable read, even if I found myself skipping over some of the gang perspective parts in favour of Kayla’s storyline. I’m disappointed that Guon has not written more novels, but apparently she is quite a weighty force in computer game design, which takes up most of her time.
I’d recommend this book for teens and adults alike. Yes, it has lots of blood, drugs and death, but that is equally weighted against healing and understanding. For someone like me who has never been a runaway, nor considered it (it’s a bit harder to do successfully in Australia), it is an eyeopening account for me into some of the US society’s flaws.

This book is out of print! I was going to snaffle a hardcopy on ebay, but forgot to bid and then someone else got it. I have a pounce set up on ebay to try grab it – so don’t even think about getting my copy! It’s probably available from ABbooks if you are from the US or UK, but shipping tends to be prohibitively expensive to Australia. I’ve given links for Amazon and The Book Depository, but I don’t think they will have them in stock (except as second hand).

Update: Sept 2018 – I got my hands on this novel in hard copy and reread it. I’m upgrading this review to 4 stars, because I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

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Or alternatively you can get an ereader copy from Baen Books.

Review: Mercedes Lackey, Mark Shepherd & Holly Lisle – Wheels of Fire

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Wheels of Fire
Mercedes Lackey, Mark Shepherd & Holly Lisle
Al and Bob work as mechanics for a race car driving team. There’s just one catch – Al happens to be a centuries old elf and Bob a human fosterling brought up after being abused by his father. Al has a soft spot for children as it happens, and when he finds out Jamie is missing, he does everything he can to help.

This is one of the few books in this series that is told mainly from the perspective of an elf, Al. I found the extent of this a little disappointing to be honest – I didn’t feel a real connection to Al, and I didn’t feel like there was a real difference in the way he and Jamie thought.
The focus on all of these books seems to be the respect of children. There are some pretty horrifying things going on in this book – starvation and sensory deprivation of children under the age of 10 is not exactly nice. Not to mention torturing them with summoning the ‘Holy Fire’.
I liked Jamie. And you’re not really sure right up until the end whether he is going to survive or not. Joe is a bit of a dark horse, but it’s nice to hear some things from his perspective too. There’s a good balance here again, you don’t feel limited to only Al, yet the transitions are smooth.
The salamander in this novel is one of the few actual strange occurrences – once you get past the fact that there are urban elves. The flashback recounting Al’s previous experiences with salamanders is fascinating, and feels genuine and well researched. As a sometimes writer myself, I appreciate the effort that goes into writing a novel like this. I can’t believe that this book is a collaboration of three writers! It doesn’t come across that way at all, although I would have said that the dominant style would be that of Mercedes Lackey.
This book (the one I’m actually reviewing here, Wheels of Fire) can be found in an omnibus with the next in the series When the Bough Breaks. The novels have been grouped like that because of the authors involved, but the next two reviews I have done of The Chrome Bourne novels actually occur in between.
I’d recommend this book for adults, and mature teenagers. The cult does some very disturbing things that really aren’t for polite company. A warning for drugs, violence and supernatural themes I suppose!

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Review: E L James – Fifty Shades Freed

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Fifty Shades Freed
E L James
So I’ve now read the third book in this erotic set. I told myself I was doing a service to my reader community to finish reading all the damn things, so don’t prove me wrong!
13536860The same things that irritated me in the other novels are present in this one. The various stupid repetitive sex scenes, the say way of referring to Christian as Fifty! Yeah, not impressed. I am not going to read this book again, and I’m glad I didn’t buy myself copies as it would have been a waste of money.
The Jack Hyde storyline, particularly its conclusion, was poorly followed, and smacked of the author being told to just include a climax! (ha ha, climax, see what I did there?) Bringing back Laila didn’t really make all that much sense either, and didn’t really add anything – except getting someone fired!
As if I didn’t see Ana’s problems in this novel coming. First, boy meets girl (book1), then boy marries girl (book 2) and finally boy and girl have a family. I’m pretty sure I didn’t just ruin it for you – it was obvious that that was coming.
 
Something that is introduced more seriously into this book are the flashbacks. I think more could have been done there, and the writing style in those was just as poor as the rest of the time, but at least something was done to try change things up a bit! There were also more email conversations, which did add a little more to the narrative.
More Dr Flynn! He was really needed in this book, but he wasn’t there. He wasn’t there whenhe was really needed! Christian breaks down far too quickly. He goes back on his ways rapidly, with little sense. The Elena storyline returns, but again, Ana is far too understanding.
Ana never learns. Christian doesn’t either. Her ‘sex’ is always wet and wanting for him. He doesn’t seem to get that she’s so sex mad. The pregnancy sex scenes at the end are sort of appalling – isn’t she thinking of the baby at all? Or maybe her toddler? Yeah, just sad.
 
I really struggled to find things to say about this book. It’s been a couple of days since I read it now, and I’ve read some other good, favourite books in the mean time, and I don’t really understand why I bothered finishing this trilogy. Perhaps I just felt like being a completionist! Also, they were really easy to read, and it’s boosting my total reviews ever closer to 100 (look out for a giveaway at that point).
 
ADULTS ONLY! It’s been described to me as a Twilight erotica – and I can sure see where that came from. A stupid female and a hunky man getting it on! It just needs a bit more of a love triangle.

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2star

Review: E L James – Fifty Shades Darker

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Fifty Shades Darker
E L James
I am appalled to admit that I’ve now read the second book in the ‘Fifty Shades’ trilogy. I want to say it was a waste of time, and it was in a way, but I didn’t have access to anything else to read, so it was at least some form of reading material! I didn’t like it any more than the first – but read on for my critique.
11857408The beginning to this novel is obvious after the ending of the first book. The weight Ana loses, and that fact that it is remarked upon a million times at the beginning, then just forgotten as they get back together again (I’m not spoiling anything for you here, it was obvious they would from this being a trilogy!). Naturally all those clothes that the private shopper bought still fit regardless.
I skimmed most of the sex scenes as boring, repetitive and in some cases, disgusting. I have to say that they’re well done for sex scenes if you must have them, but again, I felt cheap reading them. There is some relief to them, as James skips a couple, but the rest of the time Christian and Ana are at it like rutting dogs.
Ana is always stuck on how ‘beautiful’ Christian is. And when Christian comes, he always says ‘Oh Ana’. It gets way too repetitive and annoying. I know that Christian belongs to Ana, and that she loves him, so she doesn’t need to keep thinking about it! And his constant surprise that she is wet for him. Duh, she wouldn’t be kissing your face off if she wasn’t. Not to mention the constant ignition of her blood.
The ending is just pathetic. I found the whole helicopter gone wrong storyline as a weird adjunct to the rest of the book, and it felt like it had been tacked on just to add a bit of drama. Elena, yeah, not much I can say there, but that’s there, and it’s sort of annoying and pretty transparent. I could see the ending coming for that so easily too!
This book has the same obvious flaws as the first in that Ana refers to her subconscious and Inner Goddess as separate people. Those points basically broke any of the sexyness of the prelude to sex scenes that there was. Referring to Christian as Fifty is irritating too. Not to mention the ‘firsts’ they have together, and Christian’s jealousy even though Ana was a virgin, and of course she wouldn’t sleep with anyone else! 
 
Chaste kisses are handed out left right and centre. But they are never anything like that! It’s always leading into sex. I think at the end it turns out they have been together for a grand total of 16 days before Christian is wanting to have Ana as his forever.
The causes of those scars are so obvious to me. Ana is blissfully ignorant, and yet she’s willing to force Christian into doing what she wants. They are as bad as each other! Of course, it’s Ana that is portrayed as sexmad and insatiable. Christian is also that way, but Ana is just unforgivable. Her forays into sex games is interesting to an extent,
Something I thought that could have been worked more upon, but did work well, was the quick chapters with the shrink. Ana and Christian could sure do with more psychotherapy. Ana can not have just cured him! Forcing someone to do something doesn’t fix them, particularly with the issues that Christian professes to have.
Sometimes it feels like James should have just stuck to the romance and left out the drama. The helicopter, the Elena storyline and harrassment at Ana’s workplace. Pretty pathetic really. The harassment is something I ‘enjoyed’ because it broke things up a bit from the sex scenes. Oh! And the Leila storyline! So memorable I forgot to mention it until now. Seriously, a deranged woman is going to get past the ever-awesome Taylor? I don’t think so. Not believable at all.
I honestly don’t know why I keep reading these books. Maybe because I don’t own many books on the computer, and it is way too easy to just sit down and be distracted from my other work and read them, rather than hiding a book under my desk!

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Review: E L James – Fifty Shades of Grey

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Fifty Shades of Grey
E L James
This book is one that has been on bestseller lists everywhere for a while, and seems to be the modern woman’s novel of choice. I wasn’t that captivated by it, but then maybe I’m reading it for the wrong reasons *wink*
10818853I found chapter one sort of irritating. I don’t believe in cosmic connections or being overwhelmed by masculinity. I’ve never met a man I felt overwhelmed by. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places! But Ana was willing to just go with it all, despite reservations. Why does every woman feel that she can change a man?
Ana has far too much insight into Christian from the beginning, and I don’t understand how someone who is such a clutch, and obviously rather socially inept can possibly attract him. I can understand why Ana is attracted to such a relationship though! She seems like she can be pushed into anything very easily. Again, this changes throughout the book.
The first person present tense narration is a style I don’t usually read. Although it I found myself constantly frustated by stupid references to her subconscious and inner goddess. This is her mindstream! Of course she’s going to have different opinions in each part of her, they don’t need to be named. Complete with eye catching italics too.
The readers anticipation moves with Ana’s. As she feels drawn into Grey, the reader also feels that attraction. It’s not particularly well written, but I did feel compelled to read to the finish. Sometimes I just thought she was a complete and utter idiot. The Mrs Robinson storyline was sort of pathetic until the end. Apparently this is something developed more in the second book, which I would hope for. It’s almost enough to get me to read the second book, but we’ll see. I’d rather read a detailed synopsis without the sex scenes and get it over with.
The dialogue is stilted. There, I said it. Things such as ‘I’m not a hearts and flowers kind of man, I don’t do romance’ just seems very set up. I know that this is the kind of man that Christian Grey is, but I still didn’t feel it. And I certainly couldn’t understand the animal attraction Ana feels for him with such stunning lines! Or perhaps it was her unforgettable and awkward lines, such as ‘What is the time?’. It just didn’t fit in with her as a character.
I found myself grossed out by some of Ana’s thoughts. I’m not a prude by any means, but ‘I eye Christian’s toothbrush. It would be like having him in my mouth.’ is just wrong. She’s going to use a toothbrush of a man she’s basically just met and fantasise about it! Ew, she’s just spent some of the night vomiting, and then eaten breakfast, and now she’s going to brush her teeth with someone else’s toothbrush and spread her nasty germs. Healthy. This is a cheap novel. It made me feel cheap reading it. ‘Two orgasms… coming apart at the seas, like the spin cycle on a washing machine’. Statements like this kicked me out of the narrative, sexy as it was. It made the novel seem very amaturish.
The rules Ana must follow are laughable. Of course these things are likely to come up, but to see them written down in plain print. Sorry, maybe I’m just not a romantic, but I can’t believe that a woman would want to subject herself to that! Seriously, exercise 3 times a week? And it’s laughable what Christian is dictating when he has already told Ana to do things.
The sexual domination storyline which seems to be the major draw card for this book was transparent. Although Ana seems clueless (and a virgin), the reader can almost tell straight away what Christian is suggesting. I feel that it’s not even my foreknowledge of this book that told me that. p. 57 starts it all in an elevator!
I’m not sure if the PDF copies I obtained from the book club I am part of were sanctioned by E L James – I doubt it. This book is available in all the usual places (affiliate links to Amazon and TBD), and I’m sure you probably already own a copy or can obtain one even more quickly from a concrete store! I’m more interested in hearing what other people’s ideas are on it – too sexy, or just right?

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