Friday, November 14, 2014

Short review of a short tale: The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn't, the Mummy That Was, and the Cat in the Jar by Gail Carriger

     22611728

by Gail Carriger
(The title is almost longer than the story. XD)

      I loved to see more of Floote! (I never knew he could talk so much. Alexia would surely faint.) The language/dialogues were just as clever/amusing/well-written as always, but I simply couldn't like Alessandro much. He was incredibly smart, had a dry sense of humor, impeccable style... but he was too... tough, too ruthless, I guess. Maybe we simply didn't have much time to really get to know him? Or maybe it was his support to the Templars that did me in. Even if it was expected. However, I really wish he had lived long enough to see his daughter married to a werewolf. XD Now THAT would be amusing. (Even if I am quite aware she would probably have been raised just like him, being taught to hate/kill everything paranormal).
       The cat on the jar was pretty interesting (the silliness made me smile a lot), but the mummy thing was even more so!! I mean, could there be other types of weres? I was expecting to see a little fling or romance, as well. Leticia didn't sound as bad at that time, either. LOL. It was short, fun tale, but it was lacking something. It made me smile, though, so it's all good. (I dare you to pick up any book by Gail and NOT laugh or at least smile a bit).
       ANYWAYS, now I want to re-read the whole series AND the manga collection. :) It's a win-win situation for me.


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Vintage Covers: Love or Hate them?

What do you think about vintage covers? These are from books from the 80's and 90's. I find them pretty to look at (they have this 'artistic' thing going on), but the stories are not usually my cup of tea.
In older romance novels, I have noticed, the hero tends to be old(er), in his late 30s/40s and so (not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not my thing), and the heroine is usually 15 or so, which, (again, in my opinion) is a no-no. That kind of thing didn't bother me when I was younger (go figure), when I read anyhting I could get my hands on, but now that I'm older and more book-snobbish (XD), I prefer modern titles. They suit me just fine, even if they're not as "realistic" as the older ones. I like my heroines strong and my heroes not so rape-ish/caveman-ish, as most of them were. Sure, even now some of them still are like that, but there's something for everyone.

But I'm getting WAY off track here. I was going to talk about covers, and how they were much lovelier back then. Well, most of them. (Don't even get me started on Rejar). What I did notice is that my friends tend to make MORE fun of the covers of the books I read when they're more recent, featuring people.

These, and they agreed with me, look "alright".  They're all medieval romances, but I'm sure that's just a coincidence.

When I read this one, though... well, let's just say they still tell jokes about it, and it's been four years or so:


I mean... where to even start? I can't even... yeah. And if you look at Dara Joy's other covers, things don't improve much. (It's not her fault, though, it's a 90's thing, I think... even if this one is from 1999). :P
I'm glad most writers are starting to not use cover models as much (especially in YA. For some reason, it really bothers me to see close-ups in covers. But I'm weird like that). 


Just look at Julia Quinn's books. All pleasantly model-less (is that a word?).


Yes, I KNOW they still have the old-fashioned couples inside the cover, but at least they're not up front.

Weirdly, though, I don't care much when the cover models don't appear facing forward. I prefer it when they're in profile, or just parts of their muscled bodies show... *-*


These also look fine to me, but the ones with the couples would still make me feel a tad embarrassed to read in public. Which is really stupid, but something I can't help:


In conclusion (even if I didn't really reach one), I guess it all depends on your taste and the quality of the photoshopped covers. And the models expressions and body language. Yeah... >.>

Let's just stick with: Don't judge a book's cover until you've read it. Yes, that sounds about right. AND, if it's published with a new and improved cover, go for it.


Sunday, November 09, 2014

TBR Pile for November

A bit late, I know, but life has been crazy. XD


I'm looking forward to reading some of my favorite writers! Amanda Quick, Veronica Rossi, Kresley Cole and J.R. Ward are always winners for me. Or, as most bloggers call 'em, they're in my "insta-buy" list. :)