Category Archives: Adult

Throwback Thursday (5/31): Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your post.
 
My throwback for this week is…

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I was first introduced to Outlander  by a friend who insisted it was an amazing story, plus it was free on Amazon at the time (sadly, it’s not now), so I figured, what the heck?

Outlander is the story of Claire Randall, a nurse celebrating a second honeymoon with her husband, Frank, with a trip to Scotland in 1945. The trip is going wonderfully, until Claire accidentally touches an ancient stone and is abruptly and violently transported back to 1743. Utterly confused and completely out of her element, before she knows it, Claire has joined up with the powerful but dangerous MacKenzie Clan at Castle Leoch.

Desperate to get back to her own time and to Frank, Claire unwittingly finds herself in perilous situation after perilous situation. Further complications in Claire’s life include her tentative alliance with rebellious clansman James Fraser, and her appalling realization that her husband’s doppelganger ancestor, Jonathan Randall, is a sadistic and merciless psychopath.

Outlander is one of the most beautiful and realistic love stories I’ve ever read. It’s not insta-love. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. It’s complicated, it’s difficult, and it’s sometimes extremely painful. But it’s also beautiful and sweet and innocent.

As for the rest of the story…it’s just gorgeous. The settings are lush and vivid. The supporting characters are extremely well-developed. The mystery surrounding Claire’s accidental time travel is intriguing, and the tension between the MacKenzie Clan and the British soldiers is nearly palpable. The intricacies of life within the Castle Leoch are fascinating. And Jonathan Randall is one of the scariest and most dispicable villains…ever.

A warning to all the YA fans out there: Outlander is an Adult book, with a capital A-D-U-L-T. It does not shy away from torture, violence, and assault. Plus there are several explicit sex scenes. So if you are a fan of the glossing-over and the euphemising and the fading to black…this is not the book for you.

However, if you can handle the adult content, I highly recommend this book to fans of romance, adventure, time travel, and historical fiction. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful story. And as an added bonus, the series is still ongoing. Although Outlander was released over 20 years ago, the seventh book, An Echo in the Bone, was released in 2009, and the eighth book is coming in 2013.

This is a Blog Hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!

Throwback Thursday (May 24) – Assassin’s Apprentice, by Robin Hobb

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

My throwback for this week is….

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. Last week, I talked about the book that introduced me to Science Fiction, so I thought it appropriate that this week, I should discuss the book that opened my eyes to the wonders of Fantasy. (And don’t worry, fantasy lovers. Assassin’s Apprentice will get the all-out detailed review treatment at some point in the future).

A good friend loaned me a well-worn paperback copy of Assassin’s Apprentice when I was complaining that I didn’t have anything good to read (a problem I don’t really have anymore…yay book blogging!) And I admit, the first time I attempted it, I wasn’t into it. I got a few chapters in, then put it down for a couple months. I figured it probably just wasn’t my thing.

But then, for some reason I don’t really recall, I decided to give it another shot. And the second time, I found this book completely riveting from the first chapter. I honestly don’t know what my problem was the first time.

Assassin’s Apprentice is the story of FitzChivalry, the illegitimate son of the King-in-Waiting. His father, unable to recognize him as a legitimate heir, turns him over to the stablekeeper to raise. But no sooner has young Fitz adjusted to a simple life in the stables, than he finds himself taken into the court of his grandfather, King Shrewd, and secretly apprenticed to the mysterious court assassin. And as Fitz hones his deadly skills for the good of the kingdom, he also struggles to control two powerful forms of magic battling inside him.

Assassin’s Apprentice kicks off Hobb’s Farseer trilogy, which is followed by the Liveship Traders trilogy and the Tawny Man trilogy (and there’s another series after that…the Rain Wild Chronicles…but it’s not nearly as good as the others, so I pretend it doesn’t exist). All of them take place in the same world and have some overlapping characters. Which is good, because these books contain some of the best characters I have ever read. Plus the world is vivid and tangible, the magic is believable, the stakes are incredibly high, and the twists and turns are captivating, riveting, and heartbreaking.

If you’re looking for a fabulous fantasy series, or you’ve never tried fantasy and would like to take it for a spin, this is the book for you.

This is a Blog Hop! Link up your own Throwback Thursday post below!

Review: The Princess Bride by William Goldman, and why you should read it. Immediately.

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The more I participate in weekly memes, the more I’ve come to a disturbing realization. Try to prepare yourselves, for the shock and horror may be great:

Not everyone has read The Princess Bride.

Are you still with me? How’s your heart? Try to focus on your breathing. I know, the truth is hard to digest.

There is even a large portion of the population that does not realize that The Princess Bride was originally a book. They’ve seen the movie, and think it’s the original.

Don’t get me wrong. The movie is fabulous. Fabulous. But it’s not the original, and it’s certainly not as good as the book.

This review isn’t going to be a usual review. I’ll give you a nutshell intro to the plot (like you need it), then list the reasons why you need to read this book right now.

The Plot

Probably most of you know the basics of the story. Buttercup, the most beautiful girl in the world, falls in love with Westley, a worker on her family’s farm. Although they are deeply in love, Westley decides to sail to America to seek his fortune, and while at sea, his ship is attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who never leaves a prisoner alive.

Buttercup’s mourning is cut short when the dastardly Prince Humperdinck decides to take a bride. He chooses Buttercup because of her astounding beauty, but she vows to never love him. He doesn’t really care, because his true purpose is to have her killed by mercenaries, hoping to incite his fictional country of Florin to go to war with the fictional country of Guilder.

Buttercup is kidnapped by mercenaries, Vizzini (a Sicilian), Fezzik (a Turk), and Inigo Montoya (a Spaniard). They are then perused and methodically defeated by a mysterious Man in Black, who steals Buttercup away from them.

You know what happens next.

Why You Need to Read The Princess Bride Immediately

(all quotes taken from the 1992 paperback version, copyright William Goldman):

“The Good Parts.” 

Here’s the blurb from the inside cover of my copy:

“As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the ‘S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride.’ But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad’s recitation, and only the ‘good parts’ reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He’s reconstructed the ‘Good Parts Version’ to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What’s it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it’s about everything.”

But of course, there never was any S. Morgenstern. There never was an “original” version of The Princess Bride that turned out to be more a history of Florin and Guilder than a story about True Love and Revenge. But the fact that Goldman writes it as if he’s extracting “the good parts” out of a boring history book just adds to the wit and charm of this book. He always inserts little notes in italics to let the reader know when he has “extracted” something. For example, at the beginning of Chapter 2, we have this note from Goldman:

“This is my first major excision. Chapter One, The Bride, is almost in its entirety about the bride. Chapter Two, The Groom, only picks up Prince Humperdinck in the last few pages.

This chapter is where my son Jason stopped reading, and there is simply no way of blaming him. For what Morgenstern has done is open this chapter with sixty-six pages of Florinese history. More accurately, it is the history of the Florinese crown.

Dreary? Not to be believed.”

– p. 59

He also interjects little pieces of “history” into the narrative so that we can orient ourselves:

“‘I’m going to America. To seek my fortune.’ (This was just after America but long after fortunes.)”

– p. 50

The Dialogue

“‘I love you,’ Buttercup said. ‘I know this must come as something of a surprise to you, since all I’ve ever done is scorn you and degrade you and taunt you, but I have loved you for several hours now, and every second, more. I thought an hour ago that I loved you more than any woman has ever loved a man, but a half hour after that I knew that what I felt before was nothing compared to what I felt then. But ten minutes after that, I understood that my previous love was a puddle compared to the high seas before a storm. Your eyes are like that, did you know? Well they are. How many minutes ago was I? Twenty? Had I brought my feelings up to then? It doesn’t matter.’ Buttercup still could not look at him. The sun was rising behind her now; she could feel the heat on her back, and it gave her courage. ‘I love you so much more now than twenty minutes ago that there cannot be comparison. I love you so much more now than when you opened your hovel door, there cannot be comparison. There is no room in my body for anything but you. My arms love you, my ears adore you, my knees shake with blind affection. My mind begs you to ask it something so it can obey. Do you want me to follow you for the rest of your days? I will do that. Do you want me to crawl? I will crawl. I will be quiet for you or sing for you, or if you are hungry, let me bring you food, or if you have thirst and nothing will quench it but Arabian wine, I will go to Araby, even though it is across the world, and bring a bottle back for your lunch. Anything there is that I can do for you, I will do for you; anything there is that I cannot do, I will learn to do. I know I cannot compete with the Countess in skills or wisdom or appeal, and I saw the way she looked at you. And I saw the way you looked at her. But remember, please, that she is old and has other interests, while I am seventeen and for me there is only you. Dearest Westley–I’ve never called you that before, have I?–Westley, Westley, Westley, Westley, Westley,–darling Westley, adored Westley, sweet perfect Westley, whisper that I have a chance to win your love.’ And with that, she dared the bravest thing she’d ever done; she looked right into his eyes.” 

– p. 48

The way the characters talk is simultaneously cheesy, poetic, endearing, and absurd. It’s hard to not feel a profound sense of happiness when reading a conversation taking place in The Princess Bride.

The Backstory

The characters in the movie are wonderful and iconic. The book lets us know how they became that way. As an example, I present to you:

Inigo Montoya. He is the greatest swordsman that ever lived. He gives Westley a stirring 30-second speech about why he is a great swordsman, and why he is hunting The Six-Fingered Man. He has one of the most iconic lines in the movie: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” He is awesome.

Book Inigo is just as awesome, but now we are treated to 16 pages of intriguing backstory about him and his father, their relationship, his father’s murder, his training to become the greatest swordsman who ever lived, and his constant search for The Six-Fingered Man.

“Domingo Montoya was funny-looking and crotchety and impatient and absent-minded and never smiled.

Inigo loved him. Totally. Don’t ask why. There really wasn’t any one reason you could put your finger on. Oh, probably Domingo loved him back, but love is many things, none of them logical.”

– p. 97

And of course, he also says his famous line in the book. Many times.

The Action

The film is full of swordfighting fun, and the book has even more. Plus, the book goes into even more detail about the different fencing techniques, which doesn’t sound interesting, but is. Remember the part in the movie where Inigo and The Man in Black are bantering while swordfighting about the different attacks and defenses they are using? Straight from the book, but the book has even more of that.

The Humor

I know you’ve probably picked up on this by now, but the book is hilarious. It’s not side-splitting give-you-the-hiccups kind of hilarious, although an unexpected guffaw will probably escape your lips several times while reading this. But it is leave-a-smile-plastered-across-your-face-constantly hilarious. It will give you happy feelings.

Westley

I know this is hard to believe, but book Westley is about 10x awesomer than movie Westley. True story.

Buttercup

I know that super-strong, independent, quick-thinking heroines are all the rage these days. Buttercup is not like that. Poor girl, she’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.

“‘Do you love me, Westley? Is that it?’
He couldn’t believe it. ‘Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches. If your love were—‘
‘I don’t understand the first one yet,’ Buttercup interrupted. She was starting to get very excited now. ‘Let me get this straight. Are you saying my love is the size of a grain of sand and yours is this other thing? Images just confuse me so—is this universal business of yours bigger than my sand? Help me, Westley. I have the feeling we’re on the verge of something just terribly important.’”

 – p. 51

She has beauty, and she has love, and that’s really all she has going for her. But it’s enough. She never learns to be a fighter, she never gets much cleverer or wittier, and she can’t wield a sword or shoot an arrow. But she has love, and it makes her strong.

““I am your Prince and you will marry me,” Humperdinck said.
Buttercup whispered, “I am your servant and I refuse.”
“I am you Prince and you cannot refuse.”
“I am your loyal servant and I just did.”
“Refusal means death.”
“Kill me then.” 

– p. 72

And last but not least, the book contains this line:

“The beef-witted featherbrained rattledskulled clodpated dim-domed noodle-noggined sapheaded lunk-knobbed BOYS.” 

– p. 36

So. There you have it. My case for why you need to read The Princess Bride. I hope you’re convinced. Even if you aren’t normally a fan of fairy tales, or love stories, or humor, you should read The Princess Bride. Because it’s magical and amazing and splendid.

And if by some cruel twist of fate you haven’t seen the movie either, I highly recommend it. It’s a beautiful and fabulous movie.

But you still need to read the book.

Content Guide: Contains violence and torture, murderous plots, grave danger, and R.O.U.S.s

Review: Gifted by Liz Long (@LizCLong)

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I first heard about Gifted, a new urban fantasy novel by debut author Liz Long, when I heard on Twitter that she was giving away free Kindle copies in exchange for an honest review. Well, I love me a free book, so I read the summary on Amazon and instantly knew I wanted to check this one out. Circus performers with superpowers is too awesome a combo to pass up. So I emailed Liz, and she promptly got back to me with my review copy.

I even paused in the middle of my current books (I’m sorry, Kvothe!) to read this one, because there was a little voice in my head that kept chanting, “you need to read about circus performers with superpowers!”

I’ve got to say, I’m glad I did.

What it’s about:

Gifted is the story of Lucy Sullivan, a young woman grieving the semi-recent loss of both her parents. The book opens as she contacts Sheffield Donovan, owner and Ringmaster of the Donovan Circus, to ask if she can join up. Lucy was raised in the circus until her parents left to have a normal life. Now that her parents are gone, Lucy is anxious to re-enter a world where she can feel comfortable, accepted, and understood. She’s never felt truly at home in the world outside the circus, and knows that Donovan Circus is where she truly belongs.

You see, Donovan Circus isn’t your everyday circus. Because most of the performers in the Donovan Circus are Gifted. They have special powers that set them apart from the outside world. And Lucy is no exception. She is a Firestarter.

Lucy is quickly embraced by the young performers in the circus, a group that includes other Firestarters, a Telepath, a Runner, a Shape-Shifter, a Transporter, and more. She also quickly finds herself a (mostly) unwilling participant in a love triangle, which she does her best to ignore as she works on honing her abilities and developing her power.

But her new life with the circus is threatened when someone starts attacking and killing the Gifted. And she’s the prime suspect.

My Thoughts

After reading the synopsis of Gifted, I thought to myself, “okay, so it’s Water for Elephants meets X-Men.” And Gifted absolutely bears some similarities to both of those, as well as some other gems of pop culture. An orphan joins up with the circus. Everyone has superpowers. There’s a wise Professor X-ish mentor-type (sans wheelchair and bald head, and plus handlebar mustache). There’s an evil supervillain that’s kind of a cross between Magneto and Peter Petrelli, if Peter Petrelli was evil (did I just lose cool points with the Heroes reference? Admit it. The first season of Heroes was awesome) [Edit: Sylar would be a much better comparison. I realized this last night as I was falling asleep. It bothered me I didn’t make the comparison earlier. So now I’m correcting myself. He’s a cross between Magneto and Sylar]. And of course Lucy’s Firestarter ability calls to mind (duh) Firestarter. But even though Gifted bears similarities to several other more familiar works, I still found it to be a fresh take on the more traditional comic-y superhero tales.

Lucy was a great main character. She’s strong and smart and sarcastic; all traits I like in female protagonists. She’s not without her flaws. She tends to be a tad on the oblivious side (especially when it comes to men, and her own abilities). And, like most strong female protagonists, she also has a strong stubborn streak. But she kept learning and growing and struggling to understand the big picture throughout the book, and I admired that in her.

There is a very pronounced love triangle in this book, and it’s not like a lot of books where there’s an obvious frontrunner for Lucy’s affections. She flip-flops between them a good amount, and so did I. Truthfully, I’m still not sure whether I’m Team Gabriel or Team Keegan.

*gag* I can’t believe I just said that. Never mind. I’m not Team-anyone. I hate Teams. My point is that it’s really not obvious who she should/will choose (in large part because of the previously mentioned obliviousness). Honestly, I think that’s a more realistic way to portray a love triangle than a lot of books that have the poor, ignored, frustrated guy patiently waiting in the wings as the female protagonist displays zero interest in him while fawning over his rival.

The overarching murder mystery plot was intriguing. Ms. Long drops tiny hints here and there about what’s going on in the Big Picture, but mostly we discover tidbits of information right along with Lucy. I was kept guessing for a big chunk of the book, and right when I thought I had everything figured out, she threw me for a loop. It wasn’t chock-full of twists and turns, but the road to the end was winding enough that it kept my full attention.

As for the superhero action, it is abundant. There’s a good amount of action sprinkled in throughout the book, and the climactic showdown is really satisfying. It’s fun to watch Lucy develop her Firestarter ability, especially when all the Firestarters are training together. And since nearly every character in the book has some sort of “gift,” not a lot of time ever passes without something supernatural happening.

The only real problem I had with this book was that Lucy and her friends go through some experiences that I imagine would be horribly traumatizing in real life. There’s a couple instances of sexual assault, brutal beatings, and several of the characters are forced to kill. And yet, none of them seem all that bothered by what they’ve gone through, or what they’ve had to do. Even if the person that died is unequivocally a Bad Guy, I’d think taking a life would still take a heavy toll on a previously innocent circus performer.

Now, I’m not sure the book would have been that much fun to read if the characters were constantly in mental anguish after having attacked or having been attacked. But I think I would have appreciated if there was at least a bit more of a psychological price to pay for their actions and experiences.

I do want to mention that there’s a good amount of strong language in this book. If it was a movie, the MPAA would give it an R rating. I mention it because the plot and subject matter give it a YA feel (even though Lucy and her friends are all at least in their 20s), but as far as parents or teachers giving it to young readers, it has a lot more cursing than I’ve seen in other YA books. I understand why it’s in there — Ms. Long wanted to be true to how most adults traveling with a circus would actually talk — but I didn’t want a parent to give it to their young reader thinking, “little Sally loves X-Men!” (you go, little Sally), and then get mad at me because I didn’t warn them about all the f-words.

Overall, Gifted was a fun read, chock full of stuff I like (including X-Men and Star Wars references), with an exciting plot and really likable characters. I know Liz Long has some other stories for the Donovan Circus crew swimming around in her head, and I’ll be anxious to read them!

Content guide: Contains strong language, smoking by most of the main characters, some scenes of violence and sexual assault.

Also, Liz Long has agreed to let me interview her here on this blog sometime in the near future! Yay! I plan to ask her all sorts of geeky questions about X-Men and Star Wars. And I will probably ask her some stuff about Gifted as well. And maybe unicorns. Stay tuned!

Review: The Host by Stephenie Meyer (@littlebrown)

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I know, I know. I just reviewed Twilight, so why the heck am I reviewing another Stephenie Meyer book so soon? Well, two reasons:

1. The Host is nothing like Twilight.

2. The trailer for the movie was recently released, and it is weird and kind of confusing. So if you are one of those people who saw The Hunger Games recently and wondered what that weird trailer with all the eyeballs was about, I am here to enlighten you.

The Plot

The Host is the story of two characters: A human, Melanie Stryder; and an alien, Wanderer. The kicker is that they’re both inhabiting the same body.

Melanie was one of the leaders in the human resistance, fighting to keep Wanderer’s alien race from taking over their bodies and consciousness, even after the aliens — or “souls,” as they refer to themselves — have already conquered Earth.

Obviously, she fails.

Wanderer is surgically inserted into Melanie’s body, reboots the hardware, takes a look around…and discovers Melanie’s still in there. Her consciousness, which is supposed to be snuffed out when a “soul” sets up shop, is very much present. And cranky.

What follows is an internal struggle between Melanie and Wanderer, as both fight to take control of the host body. And things only get more complicated when Melanie convinces Wanderer to seek out her allies in the resistance, bringing them both face-to-face with Melanie’s brother and boyfriend.

My Thoughts

First off, yes. This basic plot device has been used before: aliens who come to Earth and take control of our bodies. But really, most interesting plot devices have been used before. As long as it’s interesting and the author’s spin is unique and fun, I don’t care.

As for the book itself, I really enjoyed The Host. Ms. Meyer has come a long way from Twilight. Gone were most of the endless, repetitive descriptors; the grammatical errors; the absurdly cheesy metaphors. No, her writing is still not the gold standard against which all others can be measured, but then again, neither is the writing in most of the books I enjoy. But I can honestly say that if I didn’t know, going in, that this was the same woman who wrote Twilight, I would never have guessed it.

That’s a good thing.

Technicality aside, it was a good read. The pace was a little slower than that of your average YA novel; but then again, this technically isn’t a YA novel (although it’s perfectly appropriate for a teen audience). It’s definitely more character-driven than action-driven. There were parts that dragged, but I never got bored. And I have a bone to pick with part of the ending (Meyer left it open for a sequel, which is fine, but how she did it I found a bit creepy).

I don’t want you to think The Host is all plodding inner monologues, though. There’s definitely some good action and suspense in it, as well as a hefty helping of romance. Twilight it is not, but don’t be fooled: Meyer is a sucker for love triangles. Although, to be fair, The Host has more of a love square.

Bottom line: I enjoyed The Host. It’s not “great literature.” It’s not going to change the way you think about anything (unless you have very strong views about alien colonization. No judging here). But it’s interesting, it’s exciting, and it made my heart race and my tummy flutter at all the right times.

I found myself thinking about it after I finished (always a good sign). I’m looking forward to the sequel (The Soul, which Meyer may write someday if she feels like it) and for the film adaptation. Even if the trailer is weird.

Content Guide: contains mild violence