Ageless Discussions: Surprise Sequels

I am, or like to think I am at least, pretty on top of what's publishing and when because I receive a fair number of ARCs and regularly read up on expected publications but also because of [gestures to bookish twitter in general]. But sometimes, despite all that general bookishness, all those cover reveals and death sweepstakes, there's a sneaky surprise waiting for me when I clean up my GR shelves, or check in on favorite author's Twitter.

I'm talking about those unexpected additions to series or standalones you thought already done, or a one-off. Or in other cases, it's been so long between books, the info that it was a series to begin with gets forgotten. It's possible, too, that sometimes a reader misses the announcement and subsequent publication (this was waaay more likely to happen to me before using Goodreads) of the new book. There are a few famous surprise sequels and then there are the random ones found when trawling Goodreads at 1am on a Tuesday.

However they come about, I've been hit with surprise sequels a fair few times in my life. I've noticed it happening more and more as authors revisit prior favorites and bestsellers. Sometimes these additional books are appreciated -- they add to the previous story's world/characters/etc., but sometimes... they end up just feeling unnecessary, or in the worst cases, they can ruin the impression left behind from the first. My feelings toward surprise sequels are mixed: if there's room in the overall plot for more exploration, have at it. If it's a cash grab (coughCassandraClarecough) I am much less receptive or likely to read. I also have to admit the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird's "sequel" Go Set a Watchman after Harper Lee's death seemed... inappropriate.

Known Surprise Sequels:

Not a Drop to Drink (2013) and In a Handful of Dust (2015) by Mindy McGinnis

The Summerhouse (2001) and Summerhouse II Return to Summerhouse (2008) by Jude Deveraux

To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) and Go Set a Watchman (2015) by Harper Lee

[also: maybe the first time Jude Deveraux has been listed in the same post as Harper Lee?])

A Wicked Thing (2015) and Kingdom of Ashes (2016) by Rhiannon Thomas

Shadows on the Moon (2011) and Barefoot on the Wind (2016) by Zoe Marriott

Catch-22 (1961) and Closing Time (1994) by Joseph Heller

The Shining (1977) and Doctor Sleep (2013) by Stephen King

The Two Princesses of Bamarre (2001) and surprise prequel! The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre (2017) by Gail Carson Levine 

The Great Mom Swap and The Great Boyfriend Trap and The Great Dad Disaster by Betsy Haynes

Some of these are entirely my fault for not checking (The Great Boyfriend Trap -- how did I not find that as a kid?!) for additional books by the author/in the series. But others, like Doctor Sleep and Go Set a Watchman, come decades after the original novel. That's a surprise if I ever saw one.

Have you ever found an extension to a series you thought over? Or should some stories stay standalones/unextended? Have you read any of these?

Ageless Discussions: Beyond Merry Olde England

Not all fantasy books are inspired by real-world events or countries but a lot of the best are. A lot of my favorites admittedly fall into this category. Big SF/F genre names like GRRM tend to draw the best plotlines from real life events, like England's The War of the Roses and the Hundred Years' War between England and France, or Daniel Abraham's fantasy version of WWII in The Dagger and Coin series. I love the hook of real life meets dragons or direwolves. Sebastien de Castell's Greatcoats series takes place in an obvious version of fantasy-France and is another fave. Most of these popular and known books are loosely and noticeably drawn from Europe/England's history.

However, the same locations and inspirations can wear thin, especially when the same tropes are reused over and over. I don't want to keep reading the same versions of the same world; there's no invention or imagination to that, not to mention all the other perspectives and places ignored. Not every fantasy should be recognizable as a version of medieval England. Not all story influences should be drawn from European mythology or folklore. As with anything in life, adding diversity - in characters, mythology, authors you read from--  is the way to go. In my opinion and in my reading experience, fiction is at its best when it expands our views, introduces new ideas and different cultures. I read to stand in someone else's shoes -- and I don't want the same view every time.

In recent years, there has been a noticeable push to publish books that are less white and/or obviously inspired by Europe and its history, as well as authored by people of color and lgbtqia+ people. Despite the fact that Europe has always been more racially-mixed in population than art/media would show, fantasy writers tend to write white, straight male heroes saving fantasy-France over and over - and it can be hard to find a story centered on a nonwhite or nonhetero protagonist. The inclusion of a character of color, or a gay character, is rare and often a) a sidekick or b) a redshirt destined to die or c) an evil one-note villain.

You know that's right.

It's a glaring issue in publishing and though more diverse books are being published (to wide acclaim and success!) gaining steam, predominant tropes revert to the WASPM perspective and default. Though I had not been as aware of this as I should have been as a reader, I've been trying to diversify my TBR. As I have learned over the last few years of Twitter, it's always better to go with Own Voices when it comes to other cultures and countries. The best fantasy set in non-European-inspired worlds are those from authors who have experienced or know cultures and heritages other than the predominant Western/European.

Read This, Not That:

Yes:

Saladin Ahmed
The Throne of the Crescent Moon

Roshani Choski
The Star-Touched Queen, A Crown of Wishes

Alaya Dawn Johnson
The Summer Prince

Sabaa Tahir
An Ember in the Ashes, A Torch Against the Night  

Karen Miller
Empress, The Riven Kingdom, Hammer of God

Rin Chupeco
The Bone Witch

Karuna Riazi
The Gauntlet  

Sarwat Chadda
Ash Mistry & the Savage Fortress, Ash Mistry & the City of Death, Ash Mistry & the World of Darkness

Ken Liu
The Grace of Kings, The Wall of Storms

Zoraida Córdova
Labyrinth Lost

Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Certain Dark Things

Sangu Mandanna
The Lost Girl


Maybe:

Zoe Marriott
Shadows on the Moon, Barefoot on the Wind

Jay Kristoff
Stormdancer, Kinslayer, Endsinger

Brian Staveley
The Emperor's Blades, The Providence of Fire, The Last Mortal Bond

Alison Goodman
Eon, Eona 


No: 

Fiona McIntosh
Odalisque, Emissary, Goddess

Lian Hearn
Across the Nightingale Floor, Grass for His Pillow, Brilliance of the Moon, The Harsh Cry of the Heron, Heaven's Net is Wide

Jay Lake
Green, Endurance, Kalimpura

Howard Andrew Jones
The Desert of Souls, The Bones of the Old Ones


The best way to get more diverse literature is to support diverse voices. So, a few forthcoming fantasies worthy of a preorder:

The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera (Their Bright Ascendancy #1)

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao (Rise of the Empress #1)

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana

Assassins of Ghadid by K.A. Doore
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi
The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan (The Khorasan Archives #1)

Do you try to read diversely? Are there some diverse fantasy reccomendations I need to read?

Ageless Discussions: Recollecting

I've always loved books but I haven't always collected them the way I do now. Lately I have been in the habit of trying to track down hazily-remembered, favorite childhood reads. The ones that I loved, secretively or loudly and were formative in how I approach and appreciate novels even now. The ones I took out from the library and never returned (I'm sorry but Daine and Numair!). Some of these books I've managed to hang onto in the twenty-something years since that first reading (A Royal Pain --- like the Princess Dairies but funnier!), but others have gotten lost: in the various moves of college, in those times later in teenage years when you decide you're "so over" anything younger-you loved.

Sometimes this is an easy process. I can remember the title, the cover, or the author's name. This is how I re-collected most of my childhood collection. I bought the boxed set of the Samantha stories last year, for example.

Other books are harder for me to remember, or just harder to track down a physical copy. In the case of the latter, there is one book (Walk Through Cold Fire - an 80s YA obviously inspired by The Outsiders even to a reader who has never read The Outsiders) that is veeery hard to get nowadays. I knew I had a copy so one afternoon last year was spent by me tearing apart every bookcase, box, cabinet I owned to find my tattered copy -- just to make sure I still had it, could read it when I wanted.*

The worst ones are the books where I can vaguely remember the plotline and but I intensely remember how that book made me feel. I'm left scrambling key words on Google ("a girl named Scottie wants to be a writer but the publisher wants her to pay") , sending out echoes of inquiries into Twitter (a book where a girl gymnast moves to a new school and falls for a boy gymnast! His sister's also a gymnast!) in the hopes that someone out there has had the same thought or has read the same book.

(Those are The Great Mom Swap by Betsey Haynes and Head Over Heels by Lurlene McDaniel.)

The worst is when my memory is good enough to remember things like there was a love interest named Francis... but not the main character's name. I could remember that the main character's cousin had come visiting from California and that a pool (???) and murder were somehow part of the plot. For a couple weeks, I would reword that info and google or Bing the key words.

It ended up being My Crazy Cousin Courtney and its several sequels. I found it by Bing-ing (boy that does not sound as good as "googling") "90s book about a cousin visiting from California" -- and then checked the IMAGES not the links that returned. Or in another case, searching various combinations of "girl moves from California and her dad makes snow shovels." (This was The Year My Parents Ruined My Life by Martha Freeman.) I eventually found it only because after nights of trying to remember more, the name of the town it was set in - Belletoona - surfaced in memory.

I think the reason I have decided to recollect these books is that I can now see a lot of them influenced the kind of reader I became. Clemence McLaren's Inside the Walls of Troy was the first historical fiction novel I remember reading and it made more than a lasting impression. (I loved it so much I forgot to return my friend's copy. I was a terrible child.) To this day, Hector is my first and most beloved book boyfriend. Though it's a light and probably silly read, the sheer happiness that flooded my body when I found My Crazy Cousin Courtney shows how much younger-me loved that book. The title is problematic and now that I am older I know that, but I will be buying this come pay day. I feel I owe it to... myself.

There are still other books from childhood I am trying to find or remember and it's definitely becoming more of a goal for me going forward as a reader.

What about you? Are there any books out there you've searched years for? That you can kinda remember but not really?

Or have you read any of these random novels I attached way too much investment in?

*not available in kindle, and even if it were, NOT THE SAME when I loved my physical copy to the point of having to self-laminate the cover.**

**I taped it with clear tape, okay?

Ageless Discussions: Genre Phases

If you've watched Scrubs, you might be familiar with Ted. Now, of all the Scrubs characters I probably identify with Ted the least... except in one area. You see, sometimes Ted gets stuck on an idea.







I get stuck in genre phases when it comes to "me reads." A couple times a year I find myself in the midst of a multi-book-long streak in a certain genre, location, or rarely, series. I can usually trace each marathon back to a 5-star read that was SO GOOD it made me want more just like it -- but different. 2017 is shaping up like the ones before it; I've already embarked on several different genre sprees.

In early January, I read Kameron Hurley's all-female scifi The Stars are Legion, which directly led to The Fortress at the End of Time, which led to Martians Abroad and then rereading Glow. Review copies interrupted, but then the scifi spree was re-ignited by review-reading The Collapsing Empire, which then led to Shadow Run and Luna: New Moon then the combo of The Hangman's Daughter and Luna: Wolf Moon which were each so bad they effectively ended it.

While I am usually found reading fantasy, my second favorite genre has has been a big winner for me this year. First France specifically was a focus with the last four of Maurice Druon's Accursed Kings books (The Royal Succession, The She-Wolf, The Lily and the Lion, and the King Without a Kingdom), and then The Shadow Queen, the Courts of Love, and Sally Christie's The Enemies of Versailles. Lately, thanks to the five-star review-read that was Alyssa Palombo's The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence, Italy -- Renaissance, medieval, Baroque -- has been a recurring theme to my reads and rereads. Simonetta's story was followed by a reread of The Birth of Venus, then In the Company of the Courtesan, Blood and Beauty, Roma Eterna, and finally The Violinist of Venice.

Here it temporarily halts while I wait for my BookOutlet order of two more Italian historical fiction novels: The Daughter of Siena and The Venetian Contract. The thing is -- I may be off on a different whim of reading by the time they arrive. That's how these marathons run; unpredictable. My brother once accurately described me as a lightswitch: I am either ALL ABOUT IT or I am completely uninterested.

It usually ends when I have a review book that zaps me out of the mindset and atmosphere I'm chasing (generational space ships! Florence during the Renaissance!) or a long-anticipated novel arrives and distracts me into falling into a new pattern. However, there is a third option: genre burnout. It doesn't happen to me often and it never lasts forever, but when I overdo a trend, OH BOY do I ever. I haven't read PNR in years thanks to my overindulgence -- and I don't see that changing, to be the exception of the previous sentence. On the other hand, I almost always read a series of scifi novels around the beginning of the year and never burn out.

Brains are weird, right?

What about you? Do you find yourself craving read-a-likes after a particularly good novel? Do you marathon a genre/subgenre?

New Year's Blog Resolutions

So 2016 was a good year for us here at Ageless Pages, content-wise. Dani and I posted more than ever before in our soon-to-be-six-year-history; we got to be pretty consistent as far as number of posts per month went. I personally found a blogging rhythm, and though we both slumped a time or two, we kept it up all year long. (Stats and Challenges post for 2016 soon to come!)



So, with that in mind: I decided to try and be even more proactive in 2017.

1. Have fun!

This is a hobby. One I choose and one I love but the days of stressing about it are over for me. I do this when and how I feel like it. This relaxed approach actually has lead me to be much more productive --- I had the last half of November and most of December posts scheduled by mid-November. I'm a month+ ahead of pub dates for my ARC review queue. So no  more feelings of obligation for this blogger.

2. Aim for 22 posts per month (combined, not just me)

I would love to be above 260 posts in one year. No real reason for that; it's an arbitrary number just far enough exceeding 2016's output that it feels possible and like a challenge. And it's always held true that I work well with a goal.

3. Write more discussion posts

I've always kind of shied away from these. I have a lot of opinions about a wide range of topics (both concerning books and not) and for a long time I didn't really want to express them in case of offending people. Well, those days are also gone.  This is still a review blog but expect more variety/politics from us in the future.

4. Respond to all blog comments/ Comment on friends' blog more

  I am pretty good at visiting blogs that visit me. But I used to be much better at taking the initiative and comment-bombing reviews instead of reading + responding on twitter. Blogging is a labor of love. And it is one that we do purely out of love for literature, so it's always nice to hear back.

5. Cross-Post Reviews

 I have always, always been terrible about this. Before 2013 (sssh I am an old), I at least crossposted most to GR. Sometimes I remember to update them on retailer sites but going forward in 2017, I'm going to make sure all my reviews go up on Amazon, at least.



What about you? Any plans for blogging? Reading? Life in general for 2017?

Black Friday Book Haul (Plus FAQs re: The BookOutlet)

The BookOutlet, you guys. It's my weakness. On normal days their books run 50 - 80% off list price which is hard enough to resist, but then you add in their annual Black Friday sale of an additional 30% off. If my credit card had eyes, it would cry at the damage I do. (Yo, I should get paid for this promo. Hit me up BookOutlet.)

So the day after Thanksgiving, I kind of sort of ordered twentyone books. Yeah.

In my defense, my husband's a reader! They're not all mine!

Someone Could Get Hurt by Drew Magary
Self Inflicted Wounds by Aisha Tyler
The De-Textbook by Cracked
Secret Six: Friends in Low Places by Gail Simone
Gotham City Sirens: Union by Paul Dini
Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days by Brian K. Vaughan

Just...mostly mine.

The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene
The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene
Past Perfect by Leila Sales
Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
My True Love Gave to Me ed. Stephanie Perkins
Summer Days and Summer Nights ed. Stephanie Perkins
The Scrivener's Bones by Brandon Sanderson
The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
Hunt for the Hydra by Jason Fry
Curse of the Iris by Jason Fry
Reality Boy by A.S. King
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Batgirl: Deadline by Gail Simone

I'm weak! So very weak for pretty covers and the idea of a sale. Four are ARCs I wanted finished copies of and I've read Nancy eight hundred thousand times, but ten are brand new to me.

So weak.

So I know some of you are asking, what is The BookOutlet and how can you buy 21 books for $85? Well TBO is just that: an outlet store for books. They promise the books are not knock offs. They're not used. They didn't fall off the back of a truck. Product ordering is a tricky business and large chains often end up with extra stock. They return them to the publishers who mark them with a dot and then sell them at a reduced price to outlet stores.

That means if you are dedicated to 100% pristine books, this is not the sale for you. While TBO (is supposed to, read on,) mark the obviously damaged books as "Scratch and Dent" and discount them even farther, as stock that's sat on a few shelves, I do notice more wear and tear to corners and dust jackets than the average B&N shipment. The damage ranges from the very minor to the "I won't be front facing this one", with one exception I want to tackle separately.

Banged up dust jacket

Someone tried to peel off the Printz sticker

Dirt above and below author name, visible crease to both jacket and book corner.

For what I paid? Not a deal breaker for me, but I do see TBO advertising $30 special editions for $13 and I have to say, that's not a deal I would take knowing their general quality.

On the other hand, especially the very new titles like Summer Days and Summer Nights, some books are absolutely pristine. Alcatraz's spine is so tight and crisp I don't believe it's ever been out of the shipping box. Luck of the draw.

Now, my exception. This copy of Self-Inflicted Wounds is not new.

It just is not. The book was released in 2013. The pages should not be so discolored from normal shelf wear. The spine is loose and broken in two spots. 

The back is seriously scratched, (above her head, across her shoulders, and across her stomach reaching all the way to the blurbs,) and there are obvious ink or paint marks. Those didn't come from sitting on a B&N shelf. The book is not marked as scratch and dent and I did not get a S&D discount. Plus, I'm a former librarian. I have glued down so many dust jackets you guys. Guess what this book has? 

That would be the most damning piece of evidence in and of itself, except something fell out while I was photographing it.

Yep. Not only did TBO sell me a used book, explicitly against their own policies, THEY FORGOT TO TAKE THE LIBRARY CHECKOUT SLIP OUT BEFORE SENDING IT TO ME.

I can probably forget about you hitting me up for a sponsorship now that that's out, eh?

Now, the book was $2.09 after the sale price. I'm not going to return it. It is in readable condition and I shop plenty of library sales myself. This is the first time this has happened to me. But I sat down to write a really positive review and I now have to include that while TBO promises the books are new, I can no longer make the same guarantee to my readers.

So you want to take the plunge anyway? Awesome! How does the process compare to ordering from Amazon or Barnes and Noble? Well shipping can take awhile. My package showed up 11/30. Jessie, who ordered the same day as me, still doesn't have hers, 9 days later. I've had orders take the better part of a month - it really seems random. There's only one warehouse, unlike Ammy, so everything is shipped in one box. That can be good and bad, like perhaps if your UPS driver is a lazy fuck who doesn't want to carry 21 pounds of books up three flights of stairs so he lies and says he did and then you have to take a day off work to yell at customer service.  I do know a few people who have gotten the wrong books in shipments. This hasn't happened to me in five orders, but it's also something I don't discount. But then Amazon mailed me crack spoons, so whatever. Shipping is a fucking nightmare everywhere.

As an outlet store, just like you can't expect to walk into Coach with a specific bag in mind, TBO sales work best if you have time to browse. You might notice Nancy Drew #2 and #4 in my haul. Last year I bought #1 and #3 in the same sale. Stock obviously depends and rotates quickly. I've put books that say they have 100+ copies in my cart, only to be greeted with an out of stock notice moments later. The site search is also kind of a nightmare and their category browsing is laughable at best.

All of this basically boils down to: I love a sale. I will keep buying from TBO on Black Friday and Christmas in July. Whether you want to or not is going to be highly individualized depending on your feelings about cosmetic damage. But let me again stress the most beautiful words in the English language: two dollar hardcover book.

So that's my pre-Christmas haul and also a little review of the process itself. Let's talk books - which have you read, which should I start first, and which did I buy that you wouldn't even pay $2.09 for. Let me know in the comments below.

Lessons from a First Time Nora Roberts Reader

Hello ducklings, this is a bit of a new format for APR as I'm combining a discussion with mini-reviews of three very different books by one author.

I've commented a few times on how I became a romance reader late in life. My grandmother is a die hard Danielle Steel/Nora Roberts/Luanne Rice reader. She lived with us for the summers of the first ten years of my life and those years revolved around weekly sojourns to the public library for six Babysitters' Club books for me and three thick romantic-y women's lits for her. Unfortunately, my grandfather also lived with us. There's a lot to unpack in regards to my love for him despite his racism and sexism and this certainly isn't the place, but suffice to say I grew up with my grandmother loving romance while everyone around her disparaged it. So while I've come to adore the traditional romance formula - they of the 350 pages, two to four sex scenes, one big mis, and a HEA - I never dove into their longer, thicker brethren of my youth.

Until now. And that's where my confession comes in, ducklings. I didn't know who was buying them all, but no one really reads Nora Roberts - definitely not me and my fellow millennials. NR was for old people who probably couldn't accept the 80s are over. But then something weird happened. Over the summer, I noticed my friends, who I trust, were talking about Nora a lot more frequently. It culminated in Angie writing an awesome NR primer. My interest was piqued by Montana Sky and Tribute, so I added them to my GR. And suddenly, every woman I know was blowing up my twitter with her own recommendations, like a secret Nora Roberts fan club just waiting to burst into the open. And the crazy, interesting thing because of her giant back list? No one recommended the same two Nora Roberts' books. Pretty much everyone agreed I should start with Montana Sky, but from there? Meg suggested Sweet Revenge, about a princess and dueling cat-burglars. Jess sent me links to three series about witches and their families. Real life friend Robin exclaimed over Hot Ice. And these are all so different! So I sent in some library requests and I've now read Tribute, Sweet Revenge, Montana Sky (which took forever to come in because apparently everyone's reading that one,) and I've started Captivated, the first in The Donovan Legacy and I'm ready to talk about Nora, expectations, and how the market has changed in the last 30 years.

The covers only get worse.

I started with Tribute because it was the first available at my library. It's also by far the newest of any of the books I was recommended, being published in 2008. Cilla McGowan is the granddaughter of a fictional, famous 40s movie star who rose from a small town girl to Hollywood icon and died of a drug overdose at the height of her fame. (It's Marilyn Monroe. You all got that, right?) Cilla's mother followed in her footsteps and even as she's more tabloid star than leading lady, she still has the Hollywood bug. Cilla does not. She did several seasons as the adorable daughter on a sitcom, some teen slasher flicks, and an ill-advised duet album with her mom and now she's ready to trade in the West coast for the East. Cilla's passion is restoring old homes, like Nicole Curtis and Rehab Addict, two years before that show debuted. She's bought her grandmother's farm, famous for lavish parties and skinny dipping with Steve MacQueen, and is setting out to remove 50 years of neglect. There she meets sexy cartoonist neighbor, Ford Sawyer, (Nora Roberts has no idea how to name a character,) and is thrust into a mystery decades in the making as it turns out Grandma may not have OD'd after all.

At 451 pages, Tribute is a lot longer than the romance novels I generally read. It has a lot of side plots, something that continued in the other books, as well as a general suspenseful, mysterious nature. I would not classify it as romantic suspense, though. As Cilla's renovating the house and falling in love with Ford, she's dealing with a half-sister she barely knows and her parents, difficult mom ready for a comeback on Broadway, and steady, reliable dad who can only connect with Cilla by painting the house. Ford's writing a new book staring Cilla as a Norse goddess and tabloids run amok and Cilla's having magic dreams of Grandma and then there's the attempted murder of Cilla's ex-husband. I actually thought it could have been parsed down a lot because I was having trouble keeping track of Cilla's family and Ford's family and Ford's best friend's family and the angry neighbor and his family and the carpenter who remembers Grandma and... Too many players muddied the waters and made the final reveal less impactful because I could barely remember who the killer was.

Content wise, there's nothing terribly objectionable, just a general feeling that the book could be more progressive. It's published just the year before Tessa Dare and Courtney Milan came on the scene, but it could exist anytime in the ten years previous. I did love that Cilla was the carpenter, hauling lumber and hanging drywall, while Ford is a complete tool dunce, instead drawing pictures of a strong, lithe Cilla basked in sunlight. That little flip in gender roles really meant something to me. There is violence against women in the 50s flashbacks, but it's not out of line with other women's lit titles I've read.

In all, I liked Tribute less some quibbles and I was eager to continue on my Nora binge.

Sweet Revenge came next and it had the plot I was most excited for. As Meg described it, secret cat-burglar princess falls in love with another cat-burglar when they reluctantly team up and ALL THE BANTER. Uh, sign me the fuck up.

Oh boy is 1988 all over this book.

So, if you don't know your history, there was (is) an extremely problematic subgenre of romances that tended to really crop up every decade or so. I am of course speaking of the "sheikh romance," a trope where a white woman ends up in a fictitious Middle-Eastern country and falls in love with, (and joins the harem of,) a sheikh. They seem to have started with Blue Jasmine pub'd by Harlequin in 1969, but they didn't become a trend until the late 70s. They died off again until the mid-late 80s, probably in response to the Iraq-Iran war. The releases were low but steady through the 90s until Silhouette decided they were a bonified money-maker in 1999 and started releasing them as a monthly title. Where am I going with this?

Sweet Revenge is something of an anti-sheikh title. Adrianne is the daughter of a sheikh and his American, movie-star wife. Phoebe fell so in love with the king during a whirlwind courtship, she left Hollywood and traveled to Jaquir to be his wife. The magazines likened it to Princess Grace. In another romance she would struggle briefly with her American sensibilities versus his conservative religious views before they made love in a yurt in the middle of the desert and he released his harem and devoted himself to the progress of his country. In Sweet Revenge, Phoebe is abused and raped, (on screen,) in the name of Islam. Let's pump the brakes right there. Phoebe's debasement first at the hands of her husband and then her manager once she escapes back to America serves only to give Addy motivation for the second half. It is super gross and unnecessary, particularly the scene where a young Addy is hiding under the bed during the attack. The manager also assaults an underage Adrianne, just so we know he's truly scum of the earth and to give Addy trust issues in adulthood. I would say the romance and cat-burglaring don't even start until the 150 page mark.

Phillip Chamberlain, (can you tell Nora was just desperate to call him Charming?) was one of the most successful cat-burglars of his age, however, with Interpol closing in on him, Phillip took a deal instead. He'll reenact the plot of White Collar and work for the feds as a consultant in exchange for immunity. His contact at Interpol is desperate to get his hands on a burglar named "The Shadow", famous for absconding with the jewels of the rich and famous. He never takes cash or art, just plucks necklaces out of safes and disappears. As I'm sure you've figured out, The Shadow is a grown Adrianne. They move in the same upper-crust scenes by day and then trade banter, (and ways to disarm alarms,) by night.

I gave Sweet Revenge three stars, even though I'm extremely bothered by the Islamophobia, because I love Phillip and Addy together. Dueling cat-burglars with banter is as good as Meg said. Once they start working together on the plans to steal Addy's father's prize necklace? Chemistry, tension, and so much excellent dialogue. They're both top of their game, and while it take Phillip a little while to truly acknowledge Addy's skill, it's Adrianne's plan and would be completed with or without Phillip. Now Phillip does have some alpha control issues, which I expect in a romance from the 80s. He's decided Addy's getting out of the game and joining him at Interpol and there are no ifs ands or buts. But I felt he respected Adrianne and wanted her to be safe and to make good decisions, rather than completely overriding her, so I was ok with it.

One thing I haven't mentioned in either of the books so far is the sex. Nora Roberts sex scenes are like amorphous blobs rubbing against each other in a bed of clouds. I have no idea what's going on. Who's on top? What's in where? I don't know's on third. It's dreamy and floaty and not actually sexy, (at least to me.)  There is hope, though! Even in 1988, she understood what and where a hymen is.

The hardcover is even worse.

Montana Sky finally came in just as I was finishing Sweet Revenge. Where Tribute revolves around small town secrets and Sweet Revenge is set in a series of eye-popping playgrounds of the rich and famous, Montana Sky is precisely what it says on the box - an ode to country and the ranchers dedicated to it.

We open with the funeral of Jack Mercy, a son of a bitch with the best cattle in Montana. Attending his funeral are each of his three daughters - none of whom have ever met. Tessa, the oldest and a Hollywood screenwriter; Lily, a teacher running from an abusive ex; and finally Willa, the only one who grew up on the ranch, albeit raised by the housekeeper and foreman. They're looking forward to quickly parting ways, but a wrench is thrown in their plans when Nate, cowboy lawyer and future love interest, reveals the terms of the will. All three women must stay and run the ranch for one year, supervised by Nate and neighbor Ben, future love interest #2, or they will each receive $100 and the ranch will be sold to a development company.

All Willa has ever wanted was the ranch and a chance to make her father proud, so she immediately vows to do anything possible to keep her sisters around. Except be nice to them. Willa is a total boss. All three heroines are in their own ways, including a really surprising scene from generally meek Lily, but Willa, hot damn. She rides from her father's graveside to check the cattle fences without shedding a tear. Once the "suspense" part of the story kicks in, she is right in the thick, shooting bears and riding off into blizzards. She's pretty fantastic in her "down-home" manner and while I could have done without the "let's gussy her up" scene, it actually gave a fantastic piece of female bonding.

Nora is not here for your girl hate. Each book, including Captivated which I'm still reading, has a strong, but fraught relationship between the heroine and her mother as well as loving sibling dynamics and generally one kick ass best friend. Mercy's ex wives could so easily have been written as catty gold diggers, but instead Tessa and Lily's moms become friends and support their daughters through this new phase. The sisters continue to fight right up until the last chapter, but at some point it turns into a loving banter. I really love how the three come together.

While Montana Sky is less problematic than Sweet Revenge, it's from 1996 and it's got some baggage. By now, sexual and physical assault have been a factor in three backstories in three books. That's not an acceptable ratio. I can't excuse it as being part of romance's less than savory past. Likewise, the racism in Sweet Revenge is appalling, but I might be able to move past it as a relic. Adam, love interest #3, is NA and literally nicknamed in the text by one of the heroines, "The Noble Savage." God. Damn. It. Nora. I'm not going to feel comfortable rec'ing this author without a caveat. 

One final note not specific to any book, just because I find it delightful, but Nora Roberts is living a goddamn romance novel. She hired a carpenter to build her some bookshelves and married him! Like, I've read that plot. Then he opened a bookstore - an author and a bookstore owner, are you kidding me? Then they bought an inn and run it as a romantic retreat with the suites named after her famous couples. This is a trilogy, a spin-off, and a Lifetime movie. Plus Forbes and People have both listed her as one of the most philanthropic celebrities, because when you're basically a princess why not?

I told you it was worse.

So there we have it friends, three thousand words and three reviews from three decades of Nora Roberts. I like a lot of what I learned from this sojourn. Nora herself is a boss chick and she writes badass heroines. Her plots are consistently interesting. Unfortunately, I also discovered that a lot of romanclandia's problems haven't died easy. Sexist tropes are still popping up today and because of her established fanbase, it does seem like she's on the farther side of progress. 

Let's talk. Have you read Nora Roberts? Do you prefer her as J.D. Robb? Would you also leave your current spouse for a bookshelf-building bookstore owner? Most importantly, how important is it to address problematic themes in work from a previous era? Let me know in the comments. 

My 5-Year Plan

So once you hit a certain age, you're supposed to start really planning for your future as a person. And not in a loose, "hey, we'll see what happens" but in a "set these specific goals and achieve them for success" kind of way. I met with my advisors, I listened to what they had to say, and then I went home and laid in my bed for a few hours because it's overwhelming, sometimes, to adult.

Then I decided I did actually need a 5-Year Book Plan. Clearly this is more important to my daily life, and also just more fun for me. For the first time in blogging, I was ready to dig in and cull my TBR. I've always had a large one accumulating over on Goodreads -- an update sounds interesting? Add the book! Fab cover? Add the book! and so on and so forth -- but before my Great TBR Reduction, I had 2,076 books marked "to-read" on Goodreads.

That's a lot. Even for me.... that's just on the side of "too much." I can read roughly 300ish books (usually more, but let's err on the safe side here) a year, so that's about SEVEN YEARS' worth of reading. And that's also a number that doesn't include any NEW books I come across in the seven years of reading I have.

I made an (arbitrary) goal to reduce my TBR by 200 books. I have always admired friends and other bloggers and readers who can just cull their TBR so I went in with this mindset:

• If I have multiple books from an author I've never read, keep the most promising and delete the rest (I can always re-add later if the chosen book works!).
• If I have a book listed as to-read for more than 3 years without even thinking about it or buying it, it needs to go.
• If I have books listed by an author that hasn't worked for me  at least 2x before, it needs to be removed.
• If I can tell my reading tastes have changed from January 2011 when I started my online TBR (so many generic PNRs and YA dystopias, Jessie, why?), those books must be excised.
• If I am keeping it on my TBR for the cover appeal alone, I need to cancel it from the shelf.

It took me many hours, but updating my own bookish records has always been a peaceful way for me to turn off the brain (fake productivity is the best). With the terrible state of the world and my inability to cope right now, it lead to a very productive evening. I went from 2076 books to 1763. I am still drowning in potential books, but I can at least see the shore now.

Now it's time for the physical owned-unread TBR (625 books!). I have a harder time donating an unread physical book than one simply marked as to-read on GR, but I want that number below 550 before January.
 

So, friends: How do you go about culling books -- either owned or interested in? How do you decide if it still interests you or not? Are there authors you keep on trying despite not the best reading history? Do pretty covers sway you?

Blogger Trick or Treat! - Halloween Favorites

As book bloggers, we tend to get caught up in, well, books! So this year, Jessie and I've decided we want to tell you the spooky things we love as much as Three Musketeers bars. So, here are our favorite:

image source.

Halloween Movie:

Jessie: Hocus Pocus! This movie is just so much fun to me and feels like the little-kid side of Halloween -- when it's about costumes and trick or treating.

Dani: The Addams Family. My life's goal is to become Wednesday. The movie's funny and a little spooky but mostly it's a really good heart?

Scary TV Show:

Dani: American Horror Story: Murder House. I'm the biggest Ryan Murphy fangirl, but I don't think anything tops the original AHS. It combined traditional horror scares with the kind of fears you shouldn't talk about: teen sex, gay neighbors, BDSM. It's shocking and gory and in typical Murphy fashion, worse every successive season. 

Jessie: literally none/ Walking Dead for three seasons. I am a total wuss when it comes to being visually frightened. The Walking Dead managed to get me to watch for three seasons, so it counts.

Spooky Song:

Jessie: I've Put a Spell on You! So since I forgot Dani's excellent choice, this was what popped into my head. I can't hear this song without picturing Bette Midler doing her best Winnifred Sanderson.

Dani: Heads Will Roll/Thriller - Glee (Not sorry.) (oh my GOD I FORGOT HOW AWESOME THAT SONG IS. Their best mashup! - J)

And of course, we are book bloggers. Our favorite......

image source.

Horror Story:

Dani: The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. I'm really not a horror person, despite my AHS and Fatal Frame addictions. TGWAtG is unsettling, thought provoking, and truly phenomenally written, and it also happens to be a zombie story. 

Jessie: Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough. This book is just so damn creepy and unsettling. It stuck with me FOR YEARS.

I hope we've given you something to listen to, watch, and read this Halloween season. As you can see, neither of us is into the traditional blood and guts, but what about you? Tell us your favorite books, movies, shows, and of course, CANDY in the comments!

Boo!Boo!

Book Blogger Trick or Treat: Bookish Costumes

It's almost Halloween! And we at Ageless Pages are so excited to be part of Great Imaginations’ Blogger Trick or Treat, because do you know what the best part of Halloween is? Skittles. And expressing your personality and likes through a carefully thought out and elaborate costume. But mostly Skittles. (You're all bringing me my favorite candy, right? That's what I signed up for?)

Do you know what the worst part of Halloween is? Running to the costume store because you forgot your carefully thought out and elaborate costume, and only finding...this.

I know the joke, but it really does seem like the only costume options for women are "sexy noun". It's super frustrating, not to mention you're going to freeze your Horcrux off. Luckily, we've come up with a few bookish costumes based on Take Back Halloween's special brand of realistic and fully clothed costumes.

Jane Austen (Or Elizabeth Bennet. Or Emma Woodhouse. Or literally any another Regency character.)

Take Back Halloween has done all the work for us on this one. You need an empire waist dress, (their suggestions are still a little pricey for my blood, this one on Etsy serves or check second hand stores for a cap sleeve dress you can tie a sash around,) a bonnet, cap, and slippers. Prepare your favorite Austen quotes and spend the night looking for your Mr. Darcy.

Katniss Everdeen

The good thing about beloved books being turned into monstrously popular movies, you can buy Katniss costumes that don't suck. This is the Mockingjay version, but I prefer the more iconic original costume, which is out of production but readily available on Amazon. 

Just make sure you pick the right one. Katniss would not approve of your footwear or cutouts, madam.

If those don't do it for you, or you can't find them, here is an excellent resource on making your own. You'll need tan cargo pants, a black windbreaker, a mockingjay pin, and a braid. You can probably source that for $20 if you have good second hand-fu. 

Hermione Granger (Or other Hogwarts students)

Like Katniss, you can buy Hermione costumes. Especially for adults, they look more like the one at the top of this post, than Emma Watson in the movies, but if you search for Harry... A robe is a robe, after all. (You can also find the other houses on Ammy.) Then you just need a collared shirt, black pants or skirt, and a tie in your house colors. Of course, if you want a better quality of robe, Universal offers more authentic (and expensive) options. If you don't have access to Olivanders, this wand tutorial couldn't be easier. Remember it's levi-OH-sa, not levi-o-SAH. 

Karou

From Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Karou is a blue haired, tattooed teenager with eyes like a silent movie star and a mysterious link to another world. Luckily, it's easy enough to dress like a Prague artist, (not so easy to dress as Madrigal.) You're going to want a lot of black: black pants, black jacket, black boots. Add a blue wig, (I like this one in electric or indigo blue.) Don't forget to draw on her tattoos, especially "True" and "Story" on each wrist and the indigo eyes on her palms. Finish the costume off with a wishbone necklace and you're done. Just be careful about breaking that bone.

Linh Cinder, Scarlet Benoit, and Crescent Moon

The girls of the Lunar Chronicles are super easy to dress as and would make a great group costume! In fact, they're almost too simple, but with a few accessories, you'll be recognizable to other Lunartics. 

Cinder is a mechanic, so put on your cargo pants, your tank top, some dirt or grease smears, carry a wrench and you're almost good to go. Slip one of these gloves on your left hand and grab Iko. Try not to let your foot fall off.

She's an android. Android? I kill me.

Scarlet works on her grandma's farm, so she always wears a red hoodie that clashes with her curly ginger hair, a black tank top, torn jeans, and boots. Done. Because she's such a simple character to dress, I would paint "Benoit Tomatoes" on the side of a cardboard box and carry a stuffed wolf in it, but that's totally optional. 

The most important part of a Cress costume is the hair. You need a long, long, wavy, tangled blonde wig. This in light blonde is probably your best bet; it's popular for other Rapunzel costumes. Unlike the other girls, Cress' clothes aren't as important. I suggest something like this or this to play up the fact that she's from Luna, unlike the other characters. The other option, of course, is to follow the fan art and pick up a blue baby doll dress with a ribbon for a sash. But if you find Thorne at the party, hands off. I called dibs.

Lola Nolan

For Lola, every day is Halloween. There is literally nothing off the table, which makes Lola the perfect last minute costume. Got a wig? Got something vintage, off beat, or colorful? Got boots, ballet shoes, or heels? Congratulations, you've got a Lola costume! If you can work a pink bottlecap in somewhere, so much the better! Be Lola. Get your best friend to be Lola. GO AS AN ARMY OF LOLAS!

So there we go, eight bookish costumes that will keep you stylish, comfortable, and above all warm this Halloween. Did we forget someone super obvious? Do "sexy" costumes make your eye twitch too? Have you ever dressed as a book character? Let us know in the comments!