Coyote Dreams by C.E. Murphy

Sorry folks. I gave it my best shot but life just got in the way. I finished my novel for the National Novel Writing Month one day early, did some more freelance work, and managed a little reading, but posting once a week just slipped past me. However, this still may be my most active period in a long while, so maybe I can ease into more frequent posts :).

Coyote Dreams by C.E. Murphy

(Acquired: bookstore)


Coyote Dreams, Book Three in the Walker Papers, lives up to the rest of the series with an engaging main character and an approachable writing style. I just can't put these books down. If I could dissect how C.E. Murphy does it, I would do my darndest to replicate the effort. She even manages to carry off an ignorant, bumbling main character in a likeable way. Joanne is nothing but self-depreciating and a disaster on two legs. But the other characters care for her just as much as I do because despite all that, she's well meaning and trying her hardest, or at least as hard as she thinks she can. This one follows the pattern of the others where the enemy is not who she thinks it is, combined with a sense of sympathy and responsibility, but the solution to Coyote Dreams is even more tangled than the previous ones. I really can't say anything more about the book without giving something away, except that I hope the loss she experienced will somehow come around right and I'm frustrated as all heck with the epilogue for all that I understand and it suits the characters. Sigh. I'll just have to see what happens in the next book...and there better darn well be one for all C.E. Murphy is off starting new series.

I have to say, everyone I've introduced to C.E. Murphy has loved the series, so if you haven't given it a try, the odds of loving it are high :).

Other comments about C.E. Murphy's books are in these posts:

Urban Shaman
Thunderbird Falls

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

I apologize for skipping last week, but I have a very good excuse...if a little beyond believable :p. I caught another flu. I swear, if I was a teacher I'd start to give myself a weathered eye. On the other hand, I recovered faster this time so maybe I'm getting back some of my energies :).

Anyway, I chose this book because it's a debut by an author I know who, as far as I know, has only published some short fiction beforehand. She has a unique style well suited to her chosen genre of urban fantasy and is well worth the time and money to check out.

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

(Acquired: bookstore)

I picked up this book because I have critiqued Ilona's work on OWW and always enjoyed what I read. No big surprise that Magic Bites held up that standard and gave me a darn good read :).

This novel is a cross between cyberpunk and traditional fantasy as it pulls the reader through a quest against the dark evil in a world not too distant from ours where magic has started to take over...and not in a delicate, seep in way either. I enjoyed the badass attitude of the main character, Kate Daniels, but also how she evaluated and interacted with the people in the book. She wasn't always attitude in a devil-may-care way but knew when she'd gone too far or when she had to stop quickly. She shows courage, responsibility, and caring for others, even those thrust in her way without permission or inclination. She respects the balance others have to live within even when she refuses that choice for her own life.

Though I didn't feel the answer to the mystery (like most urban fantasy there's an underlying who-dun-it) was offered the astute reader, something I do see as a flaw because I should at least go "uh huh" with the big reveal if not already suspect that direction, there were some clues and I suspect that aspect of Ilona's writing will only get stronger as she continues forward. This was certainly a worthwhile read.

She's joined many of those I talk about here as one of my list of autobuy authors. Besides ;), I think the next in this world is one I had a hand in critiquing part of. Not only does this give me a cool feeling, I darn well want to find out what happens next because she stopped posting!



So, if you have read this book, or have now that you've got my recommendation ;), drop a note in the comments and tell me what you think.

P.S. I've updated the TBR/Read spreadsheet. The lack of bold titles tells me I need to go to the bookstore :).

Angel with Attitude by Michelle Rowen

And you thought I'd let the week slip by without a review after all this :). Since I'm in such a cheery mood, I thought I'd share a cheery book with you. I wish I could write humor like Michelle Rowen does...heck, I wish I could write humor ;).

Angel with Attitude by Michelle Rowen

(Acquired: bookstore)

A while back, I won a book in a blog contest, a light-hearted romance called Bitten & Smitten that had even my two young sons rolling in the aisles and quoting back the pieces I'd read to them. When I saw Michelle Rowen's second novel on the bookstore shelf, I remembered how much we had enjoyed the first and snatched it up. Then it lingered almost a year on the to-be-read pile waiting for a chance, a chance that came just three days ago (from 7/12/07) when, upon finishing a literary retelling of Theseus, I wanted something light and easy. Angel with Attitude offers that in spades. I got sucked in almost immediately and had to fight my way out several times because I have so much to do that I can't spend a day reading. The characters are compelling, their troubles make sense, and in between all the struggles and worries, there are a good number of laughs as well. My only quibble is a problem with unclear pronouns, especially "she" when two female characters are involved. I suspect this comment won't come as a surprise, since the book has at least two points when it laughs at itself through comments clarifying the character reference. Anyway, Angel with Attitude won't disappoint. And I'm planning to pick up the next by Michelle, and the next, and the next...