I read: Chain of Gold

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare 
(Book 1: The Last Hours)

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of this book, which was delayed and delayed and then released the week before I was expecting.  So I was doubly upset to get a head cold that made me unable to read it as quickly as I would have liked.  I just wanted to sleep.

But I am excited to have finished it, and it was worth the wait and then the delay because I very, very much enjoyed the adventure and am waiting for the next book in the series, whenever that might be.

I read: Second Chance Cafe in Carlton Square

Second Chance Cafe in Carlton Square by Michele Gorman as Lilly Bartlett

(Carlton Square Book 2)

Next book in the series - still silly, and simple and quick to read.  Nothing much more to say about this one. I enjoyed it, but only because it's simple and fluffy. I was engaged, but only to the last page. I don't really care to know what happens beyond the end of this particular story.

There were a few moments when I wanted to scream about how moronic the characters were. Sometimes things were way, way too obvious and the characters weren't able to figure out what was going on. I guess it's akin to having blinders on in our own lives - you only see what you're looking for.

Anyway, 3 stars because the stories are cute, but not really worth much in the long run.

#09-2020

I read: The Big Little Wedding in Carlton Square

The Big Little Wedding in Carlton Square by Michele Gorman as Lilly Bartlett
(Carlton Square Book 1)

I picked up this book from the 3 for $10 table at Chapters/Indigo a couple of months ago. There were three books by the same author and I thought, well then, that's fate.  Apparently, the three books are also a series. So I took them along on the cruise because they looked as though they'd be quick, fun and quirky to read. Which this one definitely proved to be.

I read: Night Shift

Night Shift by Charlaine Harris  

(Book 3 in the Midnight Texas series)

I'll admit it - I really just read this book because I wanted to finish the series. I enjoyed a few of the characters, but the story seemed to really drag on this one. Bits and pieces of things caught my interest along the way but there wasn't one main thread to keep me going. Harris is very good at her characterization though, so it was worth the read if only to get to the inevitable end.

I'm not going to go any more in-depth with this at this point - maybe I'll edit later.  3 stars out of five.

#07-2020

I read: Alone in the Wild

Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong

(Book 5 in the Rockton series)

So I know I'm really repetitive lately, but I've been reading Kelley Armstrong stuff, so I have to say it again. I will read anything that she writes. Her characters are so well-developed, and she writes in a way that even if it's not a genre I would normally gravitate to, I still want to know what she's going to do with it.  This is the fifth book in a series, so clearly I'm reading in order to get to the end, but most of the Rockton novels have been very easy to follow, even if you haven't read the rest of the series.

I write: Technology in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Writing Assignment – Technology in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Overview:

We’re back to the workshop again this week, this time thinking about the technology that exists in our created world, how it affects that world, and the people in it. But we’ve got to keep the tension up, so at least some of this technology creates an impending disaster.

A technology allowed to be taken to the extreme threatens to destroy our civilization: socially, politically, or physically.

1. What is the technology?
2. What is it that makes it such a threat?
3. What kind of character would be the most interesting to engage with the technology and save the world?

I read: Day Shift

Day Shift by Charlaine Harris

(Book two in the Midnight, Texas trilogy)

Continuing with this series in the theory that I'd like to get it finished fairly quickly. It is only 3 books after all.

This one moved a bit more slowly, I felt than the first book which is unusual because generally the first book in a series has a lot more info dump and allows the next book to just get on with the story.

Charlaine Harris has a different theory.