Tag: anne bishop


Mar
2010

Shalador’s Lady

categories: Books
shaladorslady.jpg
Shalador’s Lady: A Black Jewels Novel

Anne Bishop

This book arrived while I was reading two other books. I had started one, and then decided to switch.  Then the latest Anne Bishop showed up and I switched again.  I began reading the evening of the 18th, I think it had actually arrived the day before.  I finished it the evening of the 19th, and only because I had to work on Friday morning did I not stay up and read it Thursday night.

I enjoy the world that Bishop has built, and it sucks me in every time.  It was great to see new and old characters together, and I felt they were well balanced too.  Some of the story lines with the older characters weren’t necessarily needed, but overall the two groups of characters seem to meld well together.  I enjoyed having some of my favorites show up, like Karla, while still keeping up with Cassidy and her new court.  I felt sorry for Theran, but the ending gives me hope.  Cassidy and Gray are amazing, and I loved Gray’s growth and transformation.  It was good that he grew slowly over the two books, and it wasn’t an instantaneous change.

I went through the spectrum of emotions as I read; laughing, crying, anger, sympathy.  The Black Jewels books in general are pretty good at pulling out my emotions and it’s something I enjoy.  I treat it as the mark of a really good book if I’m emotionally invested enough in the characters to cry when something sad happens, and laugh at a moment of humor.

Now, since I have so many books I want to read, I need to resist the urge to pull out the original trilogy and go back to the beginning of Jaenelle’s story.  I think the Black Jewels can sit on the shelf a little longer as I enjoy some other stories that have been wanting my attention.

I hope that Bishop will write more of the Black Jewels Realms.  Some people may believe that she’s milking her money cow, and perhaps to a degree she is.  But if the stories are good and enjoyable, what’s wrong with that.  Bishop created a world that works, and she knows it.  So it doesn’t bother me a bit if that’s her impetus for writing more stories in the Realms of the Blood.  I’ll happily buy and read them as they come out.

three-star

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May
2009

The Shadow Queen

categories: Books

The Shadow Queen (Black Jewels, Book 7)

The Shadow Queen (Black Jewels, Book 7)
Anne Bishop

It has been a long time since a book has put its barbs in me and I wasn’t able to let go.  I started this book on a Thursday night, and forced myself to put it down because I had to go to work on Friday.  I was about a quarter of the way into it at that point.  Friday I went to work, then did errands, then went out to eat with a friend.  I didn’t let myself pick the book back up until I had no other obligations that night.  Then I finished the book by about 2 am.  I had a couple of breaks in there, but it was a straight read through for the most part.

I have missed being into a book this much. I laughed out loud at parts, and almost cried at others.  Cassie is a great character and her story was very well told.  Her struggles are almost universal for all women, and that made it very easy to identify with her.  She’s a very real character, her struggles are normal issues that most people will be able to identify with.

The side story involving Daemon, Jaenelle, and Saetan was okay, but kind of superfluous.  It didn’t really relate to Cassie’s story at all and felt like a rehashing of the conflicts Daemon and Jaenelle usually have.  It wasn’t bad, but I was much more interested in Cassie’s story, and felt myself wanting the other pieces to quickly pass by.

There is a sequel to this story already in the works and I can’t wait to read it.  I think it’s going to have a new main character, but still deal with the characters from this story.  I just have to wait another year.

three-star

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Aug
2006

QotD: I’m reading (or about to read)…

categories: Books

What books are on your nightstand?

The Black Jewels Trilogy Dreams Made FleshThe Black Jewels Trilogy and Dreams Made Flesh
Anne Bishop

I just cleaned off what might be considered my nightstand, but the books that are there right now are The Black Jewels Trilogy and Dreams Made Flesh.  All are very good books.  The Black Jewels Trilogy tells the story of a girl named Jaenelle who grows into a loving and fearsome woman.  Dreams Made Flesh is a collection of short stories that fills in some of the happenings throughout the book.

They are adult in nature, but very good reads if you don’t mind some very adult situations.  I’ve read the BJT books several times (five or six now I think) and Dreams Made Flesh at least twice.  Every time I read them I am just as engaged as the first time I read them. I also find that I tend to read them slower and can therefore learn more things about the characters and the story.

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