Less than a chapter in but editing is okay and story seems promising. Plenty of time for it to go off the rails but so far, so good. Story continues in 2 more books.
The Order (2 book series) 2 very short stories. Really, it should have been 1 story. She just split the POVs into separate parts. Cute and I mostly enjoyed but I just wanted more.
Editing was okay but needed another pass. Some odd word choices and a couple erroneous ones. Some grammatical errors. Also some modern phrases that felt at odds with the setting.
****The Mutt was not lendable but I can loan the other 2.
I liked this very much. It’s been awhile since I’ve found a random little gem like this. A bit too insta-love (the whole series is only a few weeks span) but I could overlook. Again, a few editing errors (name swaps, wrong words) but generally ok. If you sign up for her newsletter (link at the end of book 3), you’ll get a free prequel and extra epilogue. The epilogue is nice....it’s a year later and they’re more established.
Finally got around to reading some of Lisa Henry’s AO3 stuff. It’s mostly Teen Wolf fanfic. I’m semi-familiar with the series (I watched a few episodes of season 1 years ago) but am far from an expert. I prob missed some references but nothing stood out.
Stiles Stilinski is a Lying Liar Who Lies—cute short story.
Little Wild Animal—pretty good
I Know Where Babies Come From, Derek (and 2 sequels)—about 130,000 words total Spans about 10 years, each sequel jumps 3 years. I enjoyed it very much.
In general, for all the stories, all you need to know going in is that Derek is an alpha werewolf, Stiles is a human with some magic, and Scott is Stiles’ best friend and another alpha werewolf. Stiles is 16/17 in most stories (at least in the beginning) and Derek is several years older. I wish he had been older but it’s fantasy and it’s over the age of consent.
Bound by the Wolf It was okay. Not much more than a snippet and the beginning of a possible relationship. Quick, easy read if you’re looking for something to fill 20 min. Not something I’d reread.
Hunger Pretty dark. Stiles is a 16 year old homeless foster kid on the run and trying to prove his incarcerated father is innocent. Derek has been living as a wolf for 6 years after his family was murdered. I liked it. 55,000 words.
Anybody have any recs of authors/contributors on ArchiveofOurOwn?
I’ve read some Lisa Henry and all of Taylor Fitzpatrick (and some fanfic based on her stuff) but there’s so much stuff on there. I don’t even know where to start.
Posting quickly, I just want to get these out there. I apologize for what will prob be some random ramblings
Three is the a Luckiest Number Catherine Cloud So bland. Good for a hockey fix but not something I’m going to reread and I wouldn’t necessarily rec. The book meanders through 7 years (they’re not a couple for most of it) and then hurries through the finale. Decently knowledgeable about hockey, I think, but I’m no expert. I questioned a couple things but didn’t care enough to investigate the accuracy. One H is a goalie but it wasn’t emphasized and really, he could have been any hockey player. Editing was okay-ish. Not bad but more errors than I’d consider acceptable for the price. Missing/misplaced commas, wrong words, a few typos...the typical mistakes. Sex all fade to black. It was kinda odd, tbh. Closed door is fine but this felt more like avoidance. I wanted to see some passion between them. The relationship was lukewarm. A *lot* of the action takes place off page. One H has a serious girlfriend and they live together for 2 years but she’s a cardboard character and barely mentioned. The other H has a FWB relationship for a couple years. It starts as a hookup and that seems to be it. A few chapters later we find out that it’s been a continuing thing. Olympics, All Stars, some tournaments...all off page. So it starts just before the draft. They’ve been a sorta couple during juniors but we don’t get much info about it. Decide to go their separate ways in the NFL but have some minimal contact. Texts, opposing team games, etc... Then, deciding to be together is the final couple chapters. It also skims through a somewhat awkward reveal of their relationship to a few friends. The author lists her AO3 profile (thesameoldstreets) and I tried that too but didn’t get past the first chapter.
Better Off Tanya Chris. ***reissued*** Originally Dreamspinner. I’ve liked some of hers but this didn’t quite work. The beginning was a bit odd. He meets the H at his bookstore and interrupts a “private” moment. I won’t detail it and it turns out later that it didn’t actually happen but it was odd. It also strayed pretty close to preachy on some social issues. I wasn’t opposed to the issues but the presentation felt forced. I finished but not a reread and I prob wouldn’t rec.
The Other Book (Those Other Books 1) Roe Horvat. Another miss. Promising start but waaaay too much sex to carry the plot. I ended up skipping a lot and had absolutely no desire to continue the series. Dialogue was awkward too.
Hazardous Things (Star Shadow #3) Beth Bolden. I liked book 1 but 2 and now 3 have been a miss. I just wasn’t invested in the story at all and skimmed here too.
Something Wild Anna Martin. Dinosaurs have survived on a tropical island. Even if you can buy into the premise, and I had a few niggles here, there are some other continuity errors. The Hs have known each other for 6 years on the island but have just started a relationship. I dunno, this start didn’t quite make sense and, again, the relationship felt bland.
That Alien Feeling (Calluvia's Royalty Book 1) Alessandra Hazard. And sequel. Nope for me. The alien H seemed *very* young and naive. Made the pairing a bit skeevy, imo. The relationship was mostly fluff, which isn’t bad, but it didn’t pair well with the political (alien politics) machinations in the rest of the book. Same issues with book 2. I had already picked up book 3 on sale but I’m in no hurry to read.
Amy Aislin: 2 more misses <<sigh>> Elias Another promising start that fizzled out. Pretty low angst but the author went out of her way to avoid conflict in the story. It was forced and unbelievable. Everything worked out too easily. The Play of His Life Cute cameo with the Hs from On the Ice but otherwise a dud. No communication between them. Their past breakup didn’t make sense and their lack of communication was irritating. One H had a nickname for the other—it was never explained and I think the author didn’t have an explanation so let it drop.
Tempting Fools Darien Cox. DNF. All tell, no show and the writing style was pretty rough.
A bit more about Three is the Luckiest Number I’m trying to be fair. I think I would have liked this better had I not read Taylor Fitzpatrick. It just didn’t compare well to TF but I kinda had her in mind when I was reading it. There was the AO3 profile and they actually had some same character names. I looked it up and they’re semi-famous NHL players, which is why (I’m assuming) they both used the name. (It wasn’t a case of a real life person making a cameo. Same hockey last name but diff characters.)
Winging It This was a partial reread of a favorite hockey story. I wanted to see how it held up as I’ve become a bit more knowledgeable about hockey. Still good:) And I figured something out! So Dante is able to figure out Gabe’s gate code. 69-96-53. I knew it was something hockey but thought it was prob years. It was a minor curiosity that, again, I didn’t investigate. Just something I’d ponder for a moment as I did a reread. It’s the jersey numbers of his hockey line. Left-wing, center, right-wing Pretty obvious now that I’m aware and I shouldn’t have had such trouble.
Extra Credit: Three Ivy Years Novellas (The Ivy Years Book 6) Read awhile ago but revisited it for the hockey. I accidentally bought it as a new release when I meant to WL it. Bundles like this irritate me...packaging up some lackluster (for me) old content with new content to justify the price. Anyway, I wanted it for Yesterday, the continuing story of The Understatement of the Year (Ivy Years #3) (The Ivy Years). Takes place during the off season so no hockey, just a home visit. About 50 pgs. Cute and I enjoyed it but nothing too exciting. Their future is still up in the air in terms of career and where they’ll end up so maybe another story? ***can loan Extra Credit
Falling for my Roommate Garrett Leigh. Semi DNF. Read most but some skimming. I just could not get into this. The writing is competent but no emotional connection for me. Too much intermingling of characters from other books too. It short changes the relationship in this book. <<sigh>> I think it might be time for me to give up on her. I hate to say it cuz she has a few I really liked. I know she had an absolutely awful experience with Dreamspinner (they illegally sold her book, which complicated her move to self publishing) but I think she is an author who has done better when working with a publisher. Same could be said for Lanyon, btw.
**can loan** Whisper (Skins Book 2) , which I didn’t love but it was decent. Can also loan book 1, which was a DNF. What Remains . It was okay the first time around but very much improved on a reread. The ending is a bit rosy in some respects but mostly realistic and I liked it.
***She has a number of reissues so check before any purchasing***
Extra Credit: Three Ivy Years Novellas (The Ivy Years Book 6) Read awhile ago but revisited it for the hockey. I accidentally bought it as a new release when I meant to WL it. Bundles like this irritate me...packaging up some lackluster (for me) old content with new content to justify the price. Anyway, I wanted it for Yesterday, the continuing story of The Understatement of the Year (Ivy Years #3) (The Ivy Years). Takes place during the off season so no hockey, just a home visit. About 50 pgs. Cute and I enjoyed it but nothing too exciting. Their future is still up in the air in terms of career and where they’ll end up so maybe another story? ***can loan Extra Credit
Blonde Date which is in the collection is one of my favorite pieces by Sarina Bowen. I read Studly Period and thought it okay. I would like to read Yesterday. So, yes, if the offer is still open, mjbett, I'd like to borrow Extra Credit.
The Enforcer Enigma: The San Andreas Shifters Gail Carriger. Eh, it was better than okay but I wasn’t blown away and I was expecting to like it more. Perhaps a side effect of my mood or pandemic brain, but I wasn’t very invested in their relationship. Some of it felt a bit forced and some behavior seemed out of character. I enjoyed the greater pack dynamics and seeing past couples more than this story, tbh. I wish there was more of Alec and Marvin, the alpha couple. They introduced the series (Marine Biology: A San Andreas Shifters Short Story Prequel) but it was only a novella and they never got a fully fleshed out story. Looks like the next pairing will be an otter shifter and a berserker bear shifter. I’m guessing on that. Anyway, decent read. I might flip through it again at some point but I doubt I’ll reread. ***can loan
I just finished All Kidding Aside: Magical Mates Book One Kindle Edition by Macy Blake (Author) and enjoyed it. I'm assuming / hoping there will be more in the series but so far it's the only one. This was a pretty light read and predictable but the kids were so cute that I hope they all find homes. I liked the interactions between the characters. I read this via KU so can't loan.
Got an email that I have a loan available at the library (ebook). I went to check it out but I have already read it. Realized I have a bunch of books now on hold when before I only had two -- neither of which is the book they said was available to loan. I now realize that Brooklyn Public Library must have purchased a bunch of books that I had requested because I have eight books on hold as of today that weren't previously on hold. Lucky me!
ETA Now I have to figure out what to read. I think I'll start the latest Carolyn Brown book -- it just came out last Tuesday and looks great, as most C Brown's books do. Not m/m just good reading.