Book post

[silverthunder]

More book-reading! I have been doing a lot of this lately.

I read the second of Mercedes Lackey's 500 Kingdoms series, and enjoyed it more than the first. The plot held more direction, and I found several of the characters more interesting. The main conflict resolved itself a little too quickly - and almost seemed too easy - but it wasn't as rushed and contrived as in the first book. I like the fantasy world that's been created, and it's a lot of fun to read about. Unfortunately, I had trouble getting into the romance yet again. Not because of the unusual nature of the romance, but more because I wans't feeling the chemistry. The sense of companionship between the main character and her love interest was very nice, and I felt bad for her when she didn't think it would work out, but there was no fascinating pull to the relationship that made me very eager to find out what happened with it. And the second romance in the story seemed altogether too convenient. I liked it, but still.

I remember being enthralled by some of the romances in the Valdemar series when I was younger, so I'm not sure if ML is doing something different now or if my tastes have changed, but I haven't really been that into the love stories in these books. They're nice enough, but nothing really exciting. That would be a deal-breaker on a normal harlequin, but these ones have some other fun things about them that keep me entertained.

I'll probably read the third book eventually, but I decided to take a break and re-read some older books with a similar theme: Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest series.

I still find these pretty enjoyable. They're lively and fun, and have a cast of pretty colorful characters. Perfect for some light reading. I'm already through Dealing with Dragons and Searching for Dragons, and just getting started with Calling on Dragons. Much like the books above, the romance is not all that compelling, but this is okay because it plays such a small part in the overall story that I just don't care much. Plus, the way the characters play off of each other is fun. Simple and light-hearted fantasy like this is just fantastic to read - at least for me.

Comments

[nighteevee.livejournal.com]

I've only ever read one Mercedes Lackey novel, I admit, but what you're describing about the romance really reminds me of what I felt back then. It was cute, but it just wasn't exciting. But then I was never big on romance anyway, so who knows *g*

[ice-is-blue.livejournal.com]

I was a little younger when I started on Lackey, but I have to agree. Her more recent stuff doesn't have the same appeal and her older stuff isn't quite as shiny as it was when I first read it. The few 500 Kingdoms books I've read always struck me as... creampuffs -- tasty and fun, but so insubstantial that there's nothing to write home about later on.

I haven't looked at my flist in, um, over a year, so I'm not sure if you're looking for recs. Still, since this series doesn't get enough love, imo:

Shanna Swendson's 4-book series is what I'd call 'chick-lit/fantasy.' Not normally my cuppa (the chick-lit, not the fantasy), but this series keeps me very much amused. It's indefinitely stalled, (due to poor sales?!?), but these first four volumes are quite delightful. If you're enjoying Wrede's Enchanted Forest quartet, you may like this, as Swendson likes playing with fairy tale tropes. The romance angle of the books is played out in such a way that I was not facepalming at the lead female's every move, so I consider it to be above average in that respect.

You also might like Tanya Huff's Summon the Keeper (and sequels), if you're wanting more lighthearted fantasy. Oh! And DWJ's Dark Lord of Derkholm.