Still here

I'm still here! I've been reading, too, I just haven't been writing anything. The thought of writing coherent sentences has been too exhausting. I'm hoping to get back to post-writing soon, though, because I've read some fun stuff lately. And some not-so-fun stuff. Here's a list of things that might be on the posting horizon:

• Jane Eyre (audio book) by Charlotte Bronte - I listened to LibriVox's version 3. Can you believe I had never read this book before? I knew about the mad wife, but that was about it. I would have never made it past the first 10 chapters if I had been reading this, rather than listening to it. Past that point, I had more fun, even though I occasionally wished Jane could be far, far away from Rochester.
• Sea Change (e-book) by Darlene Marshall - A historical romance in which the heroine pretends to be a man so that she can continue to practice medicine. I loved this book and plan to read more of Marshall's stuff.
• Wild & Steamy (e-book, anthology) by Meljean Brook, Jill Myles, Carolyn Crane - I got this primarily for Brook's story (it features Constable Newberry and his wife - so much yay!). I thought Brook's story was the best one in the anthology, although I liked aspects of Crane's enough to want to try the first book in her Disillusionists series. Myles' story wasn't bad, I'm just not a huge fan of threesomes. I should definitely have a post coming out for this one soon - all I have left to do is write about Crane's story.
• Pigeons from Hell (e-short story) by Robert E. Howard - Technically, I'm not done with this one yet, but I had to add it to the list anyway. I mean, that title is awesome. I was hoping for a crazy, campy read, but so far the story itself hasn't been nearly as much fun as the title.
• Some Kind of Magic (e-book) by R. Cooper - This romance stars a werewolf who's trying to resist being mated to a half-fairy, because fairies are known for being promiscuous. I read some worrisome reviews, but the book isn't as bad as I feared. However, I agree with everyone who said that the writing was confusing.
• Pawprints (e-book) by Anne Cain - I admit it, I bought this one almost solely for its cover image, which I swear looks like Fruits Basket fan art. The contents of the book don't live up to the pretty cover, unfortunately. It's been long enough ago that I read this that I think I'll have to reread it in order to write a decent review. I'm not looking forward to the reread. It's not so truly awful that it'll be fun to write about, but it's also not so good that the reread will be enjoyable. It's a meh kind of book.
• Unlocked (e-novella) by Courtney Milan - Very nice, but, again, I read this long enough ago that I think I'll need to do a quick reread. Those who like their romance to come with grovelling on the part of the hero will love this one. I do wish it had been longer, though.
• Second Son of a Duke (e-novella) by Gwen Hayes - I had this one in my wishlist for the longest time. I was worried that my desire to read it was mostly due to my "ooh, pretty" reaction to the cover. I bought it, read it, and enjoyed it. Again, as with Milan's novella, I wish it had been longer. The hero and heroine of this one have both been cleaning up after their irresponsible brothers for as long as they can remember, but they never expected that their brothers would go so far as to force the two of them to marry. The wedding night is disastrous, but things get better as the two get to know one another.

It's amazing - I've only owned my Nook for a few months, and now most of the things I read and finish are e-format. I do still have plenty of print books lying around, but there's something appealing about picking up my Nook and knowing I can change my mind about what I'm reading without having to hunt through physical shelves. I still wish that my Nook allowed me to browse the covers of books not purchased through B&N, though.

The Iron Duke (book) by Meljean Brook

This is the first full-length book in Meljean Brook's Iron Seas steampunk romance series.

Synopsis:

Not long ago, the Horde controlled England. Via nanomachines, bugs, everyone unknowingly ingested along with their imported sugar, the Horde controlled human emotions until Rhys Trahaearn, the Iron Duke, destroyed the Horde Tower that sent signals out to the bugs. The Iron Duke's acts of piracy prior to destroying the Tower should have branded him a criminal, but instead he was hailed as a hero.

Two centuries of enslavement have taken their toll, however. In the book's present, buggers, those who were infected with bugs by the Horde, are still trying to get their feet back under them and adjust to life with their emotions back under their own control.

Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth is faced with the unenviable task of investigating a dead body found on the Iron Duke's doorstep. If Trahaearn killed the man, she'll be forced to arrest a national hero. Luckily for her, the evidence soon points away from him, and Trahaearn and Mina even begin to work together.

Mina fascinates Trahaearn, to the point that he's determined to possess her. Mina is attracted to Trahaearn, but she wants to be more than just a possession. When their investigation uncovers a weapon designed to kill every single bugger within 200 miles, their relationship problems take a backseat to saving most of England.

Review:

(Throughout most of the book, Mina referred to Rhys as Trahaearn. The bits from Rhys's perspective referred to him as Rhys, and Trahaearn is awkward to type, so I have chosen to call him Rhys in this review.)

This book confused me too much for me to say that I loved it without reservations, but I did enjoy the heck out of it and plan to read everything else Brook has written that's set in this world and to at least try Brook's Guardians series.

For some reason I had gotten it into my head that this was a YA series (I think I was confusing it with Cassandra Clare's books), although I quickly figured out that wasn't the case. That bit of confusion was my own fault, but it wasn't the last time this book confused me. I spent a good deal of time wondering how people could tell that Mina and others were part Horde – if an explanation was given, I must have missed it. Also, I was never clear on whether the Horde was human or alien. The way they treated the English made me think they were aliens of some sort, because it was hard for me to imagine that humans would do such things to other humans, but then, after finishing the book, I read Janine's review over at Dear Author, which indicates that the Horde was composed of humans from some country in Asia.

My confusion should have resulted in a dislike of the book, but the characters and fascinating world carried me forward. From comments I've read, I gather that some people really disliked Rhys. I wasn't sure how I felt about him at first, but gradually he and Mina started to remind me a lot of J.D. Robb's Roarke and Eve. Like Eve, Mina was devoted to her job (although Mina's greatest devotion was to her family, an option Eve didn't have). She was attracted to Rhys, but was at the same time a bit frightened of him. Mina seemed to me to be slightly more fragile and damaged than Eve, while Rhys was a bit like what I imagine Roarke must have been like when he was younger, harder, and less polished.

As usual, I'm behind on my posting

Currently, I'm reading The Inventor's Companion by Ariel Tachna (m/m steampunk romance) and watching the second season of Rurouni Kenshin (historical action anime TV series). I'm mostly enjoying Tachna's book, but one of the main characters, Gabriel, occasionally makes me want to throttle him. Also, I'm a third of the way through the book, and the only sex scene is of the "my eyes, my eyes!" sort - it does not feature the book's romantic couple and is unpleasant, so I wish it had been less graphic. I've only finished one disc of the second season of Rurouni Kenshin, but it's going strong so far. However, the first season also started out strong and got less enjoyable as it progressed. I hope that won't happen with this season.

I finish books and DVDs faster than I write about them. Right now, here's what's waiting to be written about, not counting the manga volumes I finished and decided I'd write about after a future re-read.

• The Iron Duke (book) by Meljean Brook - This steampunk adventure had a lot of moments and details that confused me. I enjoyed it anyway, although Rhys is not everyone's cup of tea. Rhys and Mina reminded me a bit of J.D. Robb's Eve and Roarke, and I found the world Brook built to be really interesting. I plan on reading more by Brook and hunting down her other stories set in this world.
• Mike: A Public School Story (audio book) by P.G. Wodehouse - This is, I think, the very first British school story I've ever read/listened to, unless you count the Harry Potter books. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Because I know nothing about cricket, the only reason I finished this was because I was listening to it.
• Rabbit Man, Tiger Man (manga, vol. 1) by Akira Honma - Not for the kiddies, because it contains on-the-page sex, but also not very explicit. I'm still not sure what I think about this one. It had its amusing and cute moments, but am I rooting for the romance? I don't know. I'm also worried that, despite its humor, it's gearing up for a tragic ending.
• A Princess of Mars (e-book) by Edgar Rice Burroughs - I think I might have enjoyed this more in audio form. At times, this book was a bit like an ethnography of Mars. I eventually realized that what really annoyed me about it was its severe lack of dialogue. It does have dialogue, but only rarely.

Hopefully I'll write more about all of these before the weekend is over, but now you have the gist of what I'm going to write. Maybe I'll do short, quick write-ups like this more often...