January in Review

(Read: 5 / Reviewed: 6)

February sure flew past! I have to say, I had so much fun this month! There was a lot of coffee, wine, and book-related delights! I also had the chance to take part in a Q and A for Booklikes, which really made me feel warm and fuzzy inside! I know it's not that big of a deal, but it's nice to be acknowledged for something you work hard on. See my post about it here!

Read

John Dies at the End by David Wong - It's surely becoming a regular enjoyment; taking part in the monthly group reads of Horror Aficionados! I honestly wasn't sure about this one at all - it sounded way too silly for my taste. How wrong I was! What a great start to the month!

The Devoured by Curtis M. Lawson - I was requested to read and review this one by the author. I'm glad I did, as it was a bit different than my usual reads, but in a good way. I promptly consumed it and reviewed it.

Hidden by Benedict Jacka - I started this series in 2015, whilst still in my Urban Fantasy phase. What intrigued my about it, was that it had a male protagonist, something that's not all too common in the genre. This series has never been perfect for me, but I still like to see what trouble Alex gets himself into.

The Fallen Kind Vol I: Ghosts Of Nunchi by M. Almelk - After being contacted by the lovely author, I quickly accepted his request! Post-apocalypse but on another planet? It certainly piqued my interest. I reviewed it here.

Preta's Realm by J. Thorn - A last minute read for the month. Having been on my Kindle for a long time, I decided to finally give it a shot. It was short, and it included some truly disgusting scenes.

Reviewed 

Morium by S.J. Hermann

Splatterpunk Fighting Back by MULTIPLE

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

The Devoured by Curtis M. Lawson

The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter (WORST READ)

The Magic Cottage by James Herbert (2017 Review) (BEST READ)

The Awesome by Eva Darrows (2017 Review)

The Fallen Kind Vol I: Ghosts Of Nunchi by M. Almelk

I strive for two reviews a week, but I had extra space this month, so I included reviews from last year. I think I'll do that - start to post old reviews, just to have them on this blog. On Goodreads I have over a hundred reviews, dating back to 2011! This month also included a trip to Waterstones, and a basket full of books! All horror, of course.

So how did February go for you? Read anything good? Let me know!

Red xx

The Awesome by Eva Darrows
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Margaret Cunningham isn't your typical teenager. For one, she's well acquainted with the monsters that lurk in the shadows - well, most of them, anyway. Unable to aid her mother in hunting vampires, Maggie goes about rectifying the rather frustrating issue. As it turns out, her virgin blood works against her, its purity potent enough to send the bloodsuckers into a deadly and uncontrolled frenzy, and that's not good for anyone. Problem is, with little friends, and a small amount of social skills, the quest for "The Sex" may be the most difficult job yet.

(WARNING: this review may contain spoilers.)

I admit, the stylised and colourful artwork of the cover is nice to look at and undoubtedly draws the eye. As such, it was a pleasant gift to receive and probably one of the most unique covers in my sizeable collection. Now let's get to the actual review, shall we?

One thing's for sure - I would've enjoyed this one a lot more in my teenage years. For me, on a personal level, my sense of humour has changed considerably in the last decade, and whilst there were moments that brought a smile to my face, I just couldn't fully appreciate the adolescent banter (and the abundance of synonyms for "penis"). Regardless, the book was short enough that it didn't impede or become a chore to pick up, and overall there's one word I would use to describe it as a whole - fun. It didn't require much energy; the writing was quirky, and the plot easy enough to entertain. Certainly not a masterpiece, and nothing that'll stay with me for a long time to come, but it succeeded in filling up a few hours.

A major aspect of the story is the close bond between mother and daughter, however I found it a stretch to call it a normal parent-child relationship, and it struck me more of a friendship than anything else. Maggie referred to her mother by her first name, and Janice even went so far as to push her daughter into losing her virginity as quickly as possible, which seemed completely irresponsible and truthfully, a bit weird. Indeed, sex had a large part to play, and it all came down to Maggie striving to take her hunting apprenticeship to the next level. In Darrows' universe, monsters are public knowledge and often a threat to society, however we learn throughout that they don't necessarily have to be evil. Vampires however, the freshly turned in particular, simply can't resist that virgin allure, and thus we have the general plot - a seventeen year old trying to use sex to get a promotion.

Sounds a tad off, right? Either way, I tried not to overthink that aspect, and instead take it for what it was supposed to be; which was, first and foremost, lighthearted amusement. Maggie's inner monologue didn't irritate me much at all, as I'm generally fond of over-confident, snarky protagonists. Yes, she was immature as all hell, but she wasn't the worst, and by God, I've been infuriated by some main characters before. I digress...

Several events unfolded along the course of the book, and it was by no means boring as the story spiralled in different directions. As characters were introduced, they were likeable, but not lovable. I especially enjoyed the zombie side-plot of Julie, despite feeling it wasn't properly explained or concluded (the living dead need love too). The romance between Maggie and Ian was cute, regardless of the somewhat questionable means by how they originally met. Janice, well, I touched upon her further up. I'm not saying she was a bad mother... Or am I? I'm really not sure. As I said, it was weird.

It occurred to me more than once, that this would've been a decent first instalment of a series, however as of writing this review, I believe Darrows has no plans to continue with Maggie's adventures.

Notable Quote:

She skimmed the tip of her finger around her mouth to capture any unappealing smudges, and then did Duck Face. Duck Face was supposed to be a 'come hither' kissy pucker thing, but it more resembled a genetic deformity. I was pretty sure if I wanted The Sex, Duck Face was not the way to go.

© Red Lace 2017

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In the first in what I believe will be a series, Eva Darrows introduces the reader to the world of Monster Hunting and nothing said you had to be an adult to do it:

Maggie Cunningham has a different type of upbringing than most people in her life, her mother is a Monster Hunter and Maggie is determined to follow in her footsteps. However, Maggie has s slight problem when it comes to the social aspects in life, in which she is an utter disaster in talking to people she does not know and her fashion sense is directed to Monster Hunting. This poses a problem as in order to move up the chain and be able to Hunt Monsters worth more money Maggie needs to lose her virginity as something in virgin blood makes the Vampires go crazy. Maggie needs to battle some ghosts, goblins and other things that go bump in the night as well as find a date but even that may be more than she asked for.

First off I'm not one to comment on a book cover, especially as they seem to change and have multiple version, but when I saw this cover, how can I say no, lol. I can honestly say it was the cover that drew me to this book originally and maybe I should have read the premise a little better before I read this book (reasons below) as it wasn't quite for me, but I was very distracted by the neon awesomeness that was happening in the cover.

I was unsure of this book at first as I found it a bit slow and Maggie was way too obsessed with having sex/losing her virginity so that she can move up in the Monster Hunter business. As this book is touted as a YA book, the thought of Darrow almost promoting having (basically) meaningless sex with a guy you just met just to lose your virginity did not entirely sit well with me. So with those notes I would say that this book is for older young adults, not younger and for me as an adult reading this book there were times when I felt that Maggie was too much of a teenager for me.

There were things I liked about Maggie mainly that her appearance is not what you would think a typical heroine in this genre would look like. I liked that she took the time to point it out and I like that she makes a point to say that she wears crappy clothes and doesn't wear high heels as fighting monsters can be dirty work and really I know very few teenagers who can walk in heels let alone run in them. And then she became too much of a teenager for me, which is fine for a teenager reading this book, not so great for the adult.

The book got better the further that I read in the book and I glad that I stuck with it, as the book became more about monster hunting and that society than Maggie trying to not only find a date but someone to have sex with her. Her relationship with her mother is also an interesting aspect, almost that her mom does not want to grow up as she realizes that her life can be over in an instant with Monster Hunting. I think this is why Maggie and her are so close and have a very (for the most part) open relationship with each other and her mother supports her in her decision making.

Does this book add anything to the YA or urban fantasy genre, no (except for maybe having the main character be more of a true representation physically), but it was still a interesting read at times and did make me laugh out loud a few times, so for me those are both wins. I just found Maggie to be a bit too much of a teenager for me, so at this time I am undecided whether I would continue on in this series.

Cheers!!!

   

Maggie is a hunter’s apprentice – following in her mother’s footsteps to take down all the creepy monsters that lurk in the world (including gross ghosts and sidhe which may or may not have eaten an eyeball)

But she can’t be more than an apprentice yet because she is still a virgin. Virgin blood drives Vampires into killing frenzies making them strictly off limits. If Maggie wants to face the big leagues she needs to tackle an entirely new experience: The Sex

And while teenaged boys may be daunting, a new kind of zombies and a vampire cover up may be far more dangerous.

When I first saw this book, I saw the synopsis of “teenaged girl has to lose her virginity to fight vampires” and, I admit, I rolled my eyes and thought “I don’t want to read this.” I then sharpened my snark and prepared to read.

Then I heard that Booksmugglers and Cuddlebuggery had read this book and loved it – this meant that I now had someone to blame should I hate it for many many many years to come. The promise of snark and eternal shame did make things look much brighter

Alas, I have little of either because The Awesome was, indeed, awesome in many ways and all the terribleness I both dreaded and was ready to skewer just didn’t arise.

It was awesome in the way the whole quest to lose her virginity was treated. There was no massive putting of hymens on pedestals. There was no forcing Maggie into sexual encounters she didn’t want. There was no terrible romance tropes marauding all over everything and neither she nor Ian felt particularly exploited, used or mistreated by the other. Even with The Sex being the stated goal for hunting purposes, both Maggie and Ian are clearly interested in their sexual encounter before going ahead

And that sex is perfectly imperfect. As befits two very inexperienced teenagers. It isn’t terrible and they both enjoy it and they like each other and the whole experience but it is certainly not an epic passionate time of skilful sexual maestros causing people to go blind and pass out from the 8 fold multiple orgasm of doom either. It’s awkward and fumbling and not always done right and the bedrooms are messy and alcohol doesn’t help things. It’s excellent, I think it’s the first time I’ve read a sex scene where it was improbably perfect screaming orgasm time while still being happy and fun.

I also liked that Maggie and Ian built a friendship and relationship as well – which was also sweet and fun with them actually enjoying non-romance time together.

I loved that at no point, from nobody, did we get any sex shaming. I loved that virginity wasn’t considered precious beyond words. And I loved how this book even addressed LGBT people being hunters and also needing not to be virgins – since the whole concept of virginity is so completely heteronormative. There were so many ways this trope could have gone terribly wrong – and it didn’t. I’m impressed.

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