Reviews, opinions, random chatter
Sep 02
For the read ‘n’ review challenge that started in January I had projected 60 books. Well, I’m finished already.
The same with the m-m romance challenge. I have read 31 books, so I’m done with that one as well. I will continue to read, obviously, but won’t continue updating the challenges.
Right in time the RIP V challenge has started and then there is the book buying ban that is a challenge in itself. No rest for the wicked…
Sep 02
Blurb:
When Trent agrees to move to Los Angeles with Lucas, he knows things aren’t going to be easy. Between a lawsuit, Lucas’ closeted status, difficulty finding work, and a few other things, ‘not easy’ turns out to be an understatement.
Lucas can’t regret bringing his lover to L.A., but he also can’t live openly with Trent the way he wants to. When an unexpected film role makes Lucas even more high-profile than he already was and an unknown enemy steps in to complicate things even further, Lucas has some hard choices to make. Trent’s happiness, and Lucas’, depend upon making the right ones.
My thoughts:
Trent and Lucas are living together now, but keep up the appearance that Lucas is merely helping out Trent who is down on his luck. Trent is not altogether happy with this situation but knows that Lucas will never come out of the closet. However, something unexpected happens and things change considerably.
It seems that some people were unhappy about the novel format for the conclusion of this series, since the two prequels were novellas and much shorter. I liked the longer format though. There were several issues to resolve, the lawsuit against Trent, the nature of Trent’s and Lucas’ future relationship and others that only turned up in "Unconventional". A shorter format would not have been long enough to give a satisfactory conclusion.
I still think that the two guys were too sex-focused. More often than not they turned to sex instead of talking first. Yes, eventually they came around to the talking but all in all the physical side of their relationship was a major plot point. I know it often is, but with all those problems that arose I would have liked them to talk them trough a little more. Another point that I still don’t get (but this is maybe only me being blue-eyed to the extreme) is why Lucas was so afraid to come out. Would the career of the actor in a syndicated show be ruined if the public found out he was gay? Why would the public care? Am I too naive to think that for a fan of a show the sexual orientation of the star is irrelevant? It would be to me.
All those little nagging things aside I enjoyed reading Trent’s and Lucas’ story a lot. They were both likeable characters and complemented each other perfectly. Another great character is the "other woman". I am one of those readers who strongly dislike women in the story. I can accept a colleague who shows up once in a while and minds her own business, but as soon as the woman is a best friend, confidante, partner or whatever I lose interest quickly. TC Blue, however, managed to portray Katie in such a way that I not only tolerated her, but actually liked her. She is funny, understanding, down to earth and has her own plans that work well with Lucas’ at the time.
If you like hot men and a solid plot with more than one strand you should go and read this series (I recommend you read the books in the proper order, you won’t enjoy them as much otherwise).
| Title | Unconventional |
| Author | TC Blue |
| Publisher | Torquere Books |
| ISBN | 978-1-61040-25-1 |
| Buy link | Buy “Unconventional” |
Sep 01
On Read Street I read about this unique jewellery made from books. Jeremy May creates pieces of jewellery from pages of books that are laminated in a special way. No idea how he does it, but it looks pretty awesome. Visit his littlefly website to see lots of pictures and to order your own custom made ring or bracelet from your favourite book.
Sep 01
It’s September and the Book buying ban is in effect. And already I am planning what to buy AFTER the ban. You see, Wallace from Unputdownables has bought a Nook. The Nook has nothing to do with me, of course, but Wallace was contemplating what books to buy for it and mentioned one that sounds very interesting. I don’t even read thrillers and in spite of this I want to read I’d Know You Anywhere
I updated my TBR pile on Goodreads and the actual number of books to read I have right here at my fingertips (not only on a virtual wish list) amounts to a whopping 37. Not too bad at all!
Another thing is my reading list. I know. September has only started and I already have to revise it.
I think I have to make the following changes to the list…
. Depending on how quick I am (not too quick I’m afraid, since I also started working again after my vacation) I will read one more of my original list, but this is about it.
Right, so book buying ban. Carin from A little Bookish has put together a list of hints to help us through the month. Hop over to her blog and get a few ideas!
Aug 31
Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting another RIP challenge this year. RIP stands for Readers Imbibing Peril and includes reading the following:
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
The challenge comes at the right time for me. I am planning to read a psychological thriller in October. It is Laura Lippman’s “I’ll know you anywhere”. So not my genre, so this challenge is going to be a REAL challenge this time. Since ONE scary book is enough for me I signed up for the one-book-option, called “Peril the Third”.
There is also a “Short Story Peril” option which I went for as well. I am planning to re-read “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs, a story that will give everybody the chills.
So my short reading list for the RIP challenge 2010 looks like this:
I’m a real scaredy cat, so wish me luck!
Aug 31
Are you looking for a specific book over? Would you just like to browse different book covers from various time periods? Or are you in search of covers by a specific designer?
Have a look at Alexander S. Budnitz’ Cover Archive! You can search for covers starting from the year 1900 up to now.
A feast for the eyes of book lovers…
Aug 30
Blurb:
1888, Whitechapel. Jack the Ripper terrorizes prostitutes and baffles Scotland Yard; 1888, London. Annie Oakley thrills audiences of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show with her expert marksmanship. The Ripper may have picked the wrong target in this fascinating retelling of the well-known case of Jack the Ripper… with a Western twist! A mentally unbalanced killer who slashes throats and eviscerates his victims is stalking the Whitechapel district of London’s East End. Whitechapel, with its odors of unlimed outhouses, cabbage, cigars, coal smoke and fish; Whitechapel, with its boarding houses and casual wards, its impoverished working people, its prostitutes. Full moon, dense fog, shrill whistles from Bobbies on the beat; Hansom cabs, horses’ hooves clopping along wet cobblestones. The chills up your back as you look over your shoulder into the dark for the crazy Ripper with the long, sharp knife. This blend of fact and fiction will keep you turning the pages long after bedtime as the story unfolds in gaslit, Victorian London.
My thoughts:
Who does not like Jack the Ripper stories? When I saw that this book was available I picked it up. The description of Whitechapel in the blurb evoked a picture right away, so I was really looking forward to reading this book.
At first it seemed to be more or less a re-telling of the Ripper case, while Annie Oakley hardly made any appearance, except as the star of the Wild West Show. I was wondering when she would eventually come into play. Since I enjoy reading the original story, though, I didn’t miss her much. The atmosphere was described in such a way that I could picture the area, the people and everything surrounding that mysterious case very well.
When Annie finally got involved in the hunt for the Ripper I found it a nice twist. I just couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to find out whether they would trap the killer or not – and I wanted to know NOW.
Tim Champlin took some liberties with the story, some of which brought the people to life, like for example Abberline’s sudden desire to go and work out at the Police’s Athletic Club, others I found unnecessary.
For example, Walter Sickert was no suspect of the police at the time of the investigation, as far as I know, but was mentioned as such in the book. According to the police he was always around when the killings happened but in reality he was in France at the time of four of the murders.
The police at the time believed that the “Dear Boss” letter that coined the term “Jack the Ripper” was written by a journalist named Tom Bulling, and that it was not written by the killer, as they did here. However, those details, even though not quite correct, didn’t mar the story as it was.
Up to the end I was spellbound and couldn’t stop. However, I was disappointed with the ending which was an anticlimax if I ever read one. I will talk about this below. If you don’t want spoilers, please don’t read what I’m saying below the spoiler alert!
If you like historical mysteries, Jack the Ripper stories in general and foggy London, read “Annie and the Ripper”!
OK, the ending was anticlimatic, to say the least.
Not only was the killer somebody who had never been mentioned in the story before, something that I find highly unsatisfying, there was also an angle to his motives that was extremely boring.
Why the killer had to have supernatural strength at the end during the chase I didn’t understand. He could have just run away and fallen into the Thames without running and climbing for miles on end. Then the “possession” angle would have been unnecessary. To give Jack the Ripper a demonic touch, I don’t know, I just didn’t like it.
Also, I find religious motives very bland and obvious. Whether it is a crazed priest who kills whores because they act against the will of God or whether it is a Satanist who sacrifices humans makes no difference to me, religion is just too simple.
Alright, nobody knows who the Ripper was and it is very possible that it was someone who never turned up in the investigation. But if Tim Champlin wanted to show that and give us a name we hadn’t come across before, why didn’t he use Montague Druitt? That man actually did exist, drowned in the Thames and after his death there were no more murders, which is – among other reasons -why he WAS suspected to be the Ripper later on. At least that solution would have been a true possibility, as opposed to the one with the guy who really nobody has ever heard of before.
The ending was not what I would have expected and it disappointed me quite a bit.
| Title | Annie and the Ripper |
| Author | Tim Champlin |
| Publisher | Pill Hill Press |
| ISBN | 978-1617060373 |
| Buy link | Buy Annie and the Ripper |
Aug 29
We finally decided to sell some of our used books. We have tons of obscure books (and not so obscure) that we want to get rid off and considered selling them from our own blog. However, a friend told us about booklooker, a site where you can sell your used books for a small commission. The exposure is much better, naturally, so we went with that solution.
We decided to call ourselves Motley Books because our collection is rather, um, motley. We only have a handful of books up, but will continuously add more. If you would like to know about new books available you can follow Motley Books on twitter.
To see our books for sale, please go to Motley Books’ booklooker page. See you there 
!
Aug 29
Mailbox image by taj at www.sxc.hu
Hosted by The Story Siren
What have you received in your mailbox since your last mailbox post?
There hopefully won’t be much in my mailbox in the next few weeks due to the Book Buying ban in effect fin September. Hopefully I will be able to stick to it, we’ll see.
Aug 28
I know, I know, I don’t even use bookmarks that much, but I like to have them. DROPS which is a great website with lots of free patterns for crochet and knitting – they also produce great yearn – have a few nice patterns up for making your own bookmarks.
So get out your crochet hook or knitting needles and create some handmade bookmarks for yourself or a fellow book lover!
(Image source: flickr, framboise)
