Musings on Romance
I’m over at AudioGals today with a review of Try Me, Tempt Me, Take Me by Olivia Cunning, narrated by Justine O.Keef. It’s an anthology of three novellas – they’re very hot and explicit, so definitely NSFW. I think they’re best sampled in sections rather than all at once.
I make a return to the Speaking of Audiobooks column at All About Romance today with a review of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon, narrated by the magnificent Davina Porter. I found this instalment to be generally much happier in tone than some of the other books and less violent too. Plus: JAMIE FRASER.
Why I read it: This is another from my personal stash. I was in the mood for a little more Miles Vorkosigan and it was the next one in the series (which I am trying to listen to in order).
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) [A Miles Vorkosigan Story] Miles infiltrates a prison camp at Dagoola IV, where he plots from within to free the prisoners. [Publisher’s Note: The Borders of Infinity was originally published as a stand-alone novella in the anthology Free Lancers in September 1987. It was then included in the novel Borders of Infinity (October 1989). For the novel, Ms. Bujold added a short “framing story” that tied the three novellas together by setting up each as a flashback that Miles experiences while recovering from bone-replacement surgery. Fictionwise is publishing these novellas separately, but we decided to leave in Ms. Bujold’s short framing story for those who may also wish to read the other two novellas (The Mountains of Mourning and Labyrinth).]
What worked for me (and what didn’t): In this full length audiobook, the author has created a “framing story” to join the three novellas together. Miles is recovering from bone replacement surgery and Ilyan, the spymaster, asks him about certain expenses he has incurred in some of his missions. A rival faction is using a bean counter who is dedicated to counting beans to stir up trouble for Count Aral Vorkosigan and unseat him from the Prime Ministership – Ilyan wants to learn everything about these missions so that he can nip trouble in the bud – even if Miles is resentful of the unsaid accusation of misappropriation.
The Mountains of Mourning
This novella takes place when Miles is only 20 and is on leave shortly after graduating from the Academy. A woman begs for justice for her murdered baby daughter and Count Aral Vorkosigan sends Miles in his stead to investigate the crime and mete out said justice. The baby was born with a hare lip and a cleft palate but was managing to feed well enough. Simple plastic surgery could have fixed the defect (should Hara have been able to access the treatment of course) but on Barrayar, birth defects are not tolerated well. It is particularly so in the remote villages where there is no good communication with the cities and where the people cling to old traditions. Miles is, of course, a “mutant” himself and his own life was threatened on the basis of his defect before he was even born (see Barrayar). Things are slowly changing on Barrayar but Aral wants Miles to sent a message that the killing of infants on the basis of a birth defect is NOT OKAY and will no longer be tolerated. Miles has to use his ingenuity (as always) to sort out the truth and in the process he has to win over people (as always) who judge him on the basis of his physical imperfections.
I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Alone by Kendra Elliot, narrated by Tanya Eby. I’m always on the lookout for good romantic suspense. This didn’t exactly knock it out of the park but I liked it and plan to read/listen to more from this author.
I’ve over at AudioGals today reviewing Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Jill Mansell, narrated by Alison Larkin. While it has a HEA, it’s more a chicklit kind of book than a romance but it worked for me on audio.
Why I read it: This sci-fi book was highly recommended and I bought the audiobook a little while back. It’s not a romance but I don’t mind a little break every now and then and, as I’ve said before, I tend to be more adventurous with audiobooks anyway. I hear this one is being made into a movie starring Matt Damon, to be directed by Ridley Scott. If they don’t muck it up, it will be awesome.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.
Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.
After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive?and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.
Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.
But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills – and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit – he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
What worked for me (and what didn’t): This book was an absolute cracker. Honestly, I was hooked from the beginning and the story kept me gripped right until the end. I am trying to restrain myself from just fangirl gushing about it – it was just that good.
Mark Watney has been left alone on Mars. His crew, for valid reasons, thought he was dead and they had to leave in a hurry. He is alone, in a hostile environment and has no communication with Earth or his crew’s ship (Hermes) because the same storm which caused the quick departure took out the comms. So, at first, no-one even knows he’s alive. What follows is him making a plan to survive until the next Mars mission which is four years away. He is a mechanical engineer and a botanist, which, as it turns out, if you’re going to be stuck alone on Mars, include the perfect skillset. He basically MacGyver’s what is available to him in order to survive.
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