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Well, as it turns out, French Women For All Seasons wasn't quite as good a read as French Women Don't Get Fat. It had marvelous recipes this go-round, but the writing was filled with mentions of the first book, over and over and over. x. x

Now I get to read My Booky Wook, by Russel Brand. : DDDD I had no idea the man even had a brain until I saw this interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qdNBrzA ... Q&index=41
Then I became KEENLY interested in what he has to say, so I'm pretty excited for this read.

*stretch* I have a lot of books to review now. I shouldn't have waited so long, because now I don't know where to start.

First, Havemercy. I finished this book over a week ago, and I took the longest to read this out of the novels I've finished in the past three weeks. This one I stretched over several days instead of completing it in two or three.

This was a beautiful story. I've already reread parts of it and see myself rereading it periodically. This book does have fantasy adventure with a well-crafted setting and interesting magic and magical technology. However, the heart of the book are two interpersonal journeys. I'm not going to say the setting and fantasy trappings serve as mere framing objects, because this isn't the case, and they become quite relevant later on in the story. It's just that the drama is primarily about characters and relationships.

More detailed thoughts:


If you like fiction and you have any interesting in gay male romance, I highly recommend Havemercy. I will probably read one or more of the sequels eventually, despite the lack of romantic plot in them. And who knows, they might write a new book in this world with one in it.

Reading through A Game of Thrones. Hopefully I'll get through the entire series this summer ;_; I'm not a slow reader, but it is hard to get through this with so many distractions.

Reading Feet of Clay. Couldn't find a copy of Men at Arms though, oh well.

@Jubelon

I am so pleased that you liked Havemercy -- or, rather, that you loved it. I was certainly a book that I fell in love with immediately upon reading, and one that grabbed me within the first few pages.

Makes me itch to run home and re-read some of my favorite scenes, which I feel that I have memorized by now. As much as I utterly love Havemercy, I am going to declare that I love Melusine/Virtu by Sarah Monette just a touch more, but I'll completely admit that I'll always recommend Havemercy over Melusine for the gay wizard connoisseur.

I just recently set myself up with a book trade-in account with Powell's. When my box of books arrives I'll have over $100 in store credit. I think my shopping list is going to include Wicked Gentlemen, if a certain someone assures me it's worth the read, and possibly a few other of my wishlist titles that they have in stock, like Downtime (time travel? yes please) and Archer's Heart.

Wicked Gentlemen it is, then. I want to hear your review of Luck in the Shadows/Stalking Darkness after you finish the duology; it is rather a story that requires being read together (much like Melusine/Virtu)

My thought on Melusine/Virtu vs. Havemercy: Rook is the poor man's Mildmay. Mildmay is a thousand times more likable than Rook, however, and is downright utterly cute and sympathetic compared to Felix, the other narrator/MC. Felix, however, is the supreme gay wizard of all gay wizards. The worldbuilding, incidentally, is to fucking die for -- that's one of the many reasons why it edges above Havemercy in my opinion. The world of Melusine is one that breathes across every page and lingers in your mind for days afterward. And Monette's writing... is phenomenal. I never get tired of re-reading these books, and there are so many scenes that I cherish. Whenever I read I "see" the book in my head, and I have perfect vivid imagery of so much of those books.

Havemercy, however, has the better romance. Hands down, no contest. There isn't a central romance in the Monette books. Havemercy also makes my heart sing. Melusine/Virtu makes it rush with excitement and ache with beauty, but I wouldn't necessarily call it uplifting, cute, or adorable -- which are some adjectives I'd throw at Havemercy. Melusine/Virtu are much darker. They deal with childhood trauma, sexual psychotrauma, and characters who don't always do the right thing.

So I have a variety of personal reasons to cherish Monette's books but, like I said, when it comes to recommendations I'm always going to grab for Havemercy first.

Oh, if you do decide to read Lynn Flewelling's further Nightrunner books... be warned. I have only finished Traitor's Moon once and twice have started to re-read it only to stop midway through out of sheer boredom. Darkness Returns, the 4th book, suffers from a sharp decrease in writing quality. I was appalled at how bland her writing, characters, and story had become -- which feels traitorous to write considering how much I loved the shit out of the first two Nightrunner books when I first read them so long ago. I haven't read White Road yet, and I know there's a 6th book releasing in the fall. But I'm interested to see what you have to say about them.

I'd encourage you to read The God Eaters based on some of what we've discussed already. I think you'd like it. The first part of the book is set in a jail which doubles as a secret testing facility for dangerous psychics -- I think we both know what that inspired.

Finished both Feet of Clay ([hide]WORDS IN THE HEART CANNOT BE TAKEN)[/hide]), Jingo ([hide]Things to do today today today: Die...[/hide], and for a non-Discworld book, The Book of Lost Things.