Bookish Rants or Raves: Do Not Meddle in the Affairs of Dragons

Warning: I devour any and all books, movies, or shows that feature dragons. I’ve exhaustively researched dragon mythology. I unintentionally convinced a guy to smuggle a short dragon sword out of the country for me. I make a living by arguing with awful people about the semantics of domestic violence.* I have opinions about dragons and writing. And I have ZERO tolerance for misuse of these magnificent creatures.

So, without further ado, I present…

The Five Dragon Books You Should NEVER read, or The Draconic UnMentionables.

Dear Authors, when you squander the brilliance of dragons, you earn my enmity until the end of time.

I am here today to warn my fellow readers. No one should suffer as I have suffered. No one should be pulled in with promises of draconic glory, only to see the glorious creatures debased and defiled.

Le Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory.

You expect me to believe a dragon …

Bookish Rants or Raves: Here Be Dragons + giveaway

Warning: I devour any and all books, movies, or shows that feature dragons. I’ve exhaustively researched dragon mythology. I refused to play Magic: the Gathering in 9th grade because they wouldn’t give me any dragon cards. Also, I’m an attorney. Taken together this means that I have opinions about dragons in popular culture.

So, without further ado, I present…

The Five Dragon Books You Should Have Read Already!*

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Poor Smaug, napping on his hoard of unparalleled treasure, minding his own business, literally embedding his flesh with diamonds to render him impervious to weapons – you know living out the dream of the 1% – when some pint-sized moron gets conned into stealing from him.

My very first dragon book. It was awesomely illustrated.

Thieves! Fire! Murder! Such a thing had not happened since he first came to the Mountain! His rage passes description – the sort …

Review: The Drag Queen of Elfland by Lawrence Schimel

Format Read: ebook provided by author
Number of Pages: 144
Release Date: May 13, 2012
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Circlet Press
Formats Available:  ebook, paperback
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Powells, BookDepository

Book Blurb:

The Drag Queen of Elfland is a collection of fantastical stories imbued with a refreshingly queer sensibility. These seventeen stories feature a lesbian werewolf taking back the night, a gay vampire discovering the perils of going to the gym (too many mirrors, for starters), a young lord’s son undertaking a quest to obtain a magical sword and win the heart of the boy he loves, and much more. Sometimes funny, sometimes moving, sometimes sexy, and always imaginative, these stories show readers the secret worlds that lurk beneath the surface of our own.

My Thoughts:

Excellent! An uneven number of stories. There won’t be a tie like last time.

As before, each story will get a blurb, and a + or – indicating if it’s …

On the Booklovers’ Shelves: DRACONISMOI HAS BOOKSHELVES!!!

I understand that it is ridiculous to write in ALL CAPS and than add extraneous exclamation points. (Dude, we get it already, you’re loud and excited.)

But allow me to assure you that today is a day totally worthy of duplicative emphasis. Why? Because today I GOT BOOKSHELVES!!!!!!

I’m a nomad by nature, moving across the country every few months, and subsequently living out of 3 pieces of luggage. One of which was always full of books. (I cannot tell you how many times TSA totally unpacked my carryon for being suspiciously heavy and dusted every single book for bomb residue. USians are not supposed to be aggressively literate. It is highly suspect behavior).

My mother does not approve of buying books when you can get them at the library for free. She never let me have more than a single small bookshelf growing up. I had to hide my collection under other …

Review: Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

Format Read: ebook
Number of Pages: 358
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Angry Robot
Formats Available:  ebook, paperback
Purchasing Info: Author, Publisher, Goodreads, BookDepository, Powells, Amazon

Book Blurb: 

Miriam Black knows when you will die.

Still in her early twenties, she’s foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, suicides, and slow deaths by cancer. But when Miriam hitches a ride with truck driver Louis Darling and shakes his hand, she sees that in thirty days Louis will be gruesomely murdered while he calls her name.

Miriam has given up trying to save people; that only makes their deaths happen. But Louis will die because he met her. No matter what she does she can’t save him, not even if she tries.

My Thoughts:

This book will attack your brain directly through your eyeballs. You won’t realize it until it is …

Review: Running with the Pack by Ekaterina Sedia

Format Read: ebook

Number of Pages: 339

Release Date: May 4, 2010

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Anthology

Publisher: Prime Books

Formats Available:  ebook, paperback

Purchasing Info: Author, Amazon, Goodreads

Book Blurb:

Remember the werewolves of classic stories and films, those bloodthirsty monsters that transformed under the full moon, reminding us of the terrible nature that lives within all of us? Today’s werewolves are much more suave – and even sexy – and they’ve moved from British moors to New York City lofts, shaved, and got jobs. But as the tales of these writers will show you, they remain no less wild and passionate, and they still tug at the part of our being where a wild animal used to be. Running With the Pack includes stories from Carrie Vaughn, Laura Anne Gilman, and C.E. Murphy, and they will convince you that despite their gentrification, werewolves remain as fascinating and terrifying as ever.

My Thoughts:

Why did I …

Review: Last Car to Annwn Station by Michael Merriam

  Format Read: ebook from Author

  Number of Pages: 326

  Release Date: June 27, 2011

  Genre: Urban Fantasy

  Publisher: Carina Press

  Formats Available:  ebook, audiobook

  Purchasing Info: Author, Goodreads, Amazon

  Book Blurb:

“The fare is ten cents, miss.”

Mae Malveaux, an attorney with Minneapolis Child Protective Services, is burnt-out, tired and frustrated. Passing on an invite from Jill, her flirtatious coworker, Mae just wants a quiet night in. Leaving the office late, she’s surprised to find the Heritage Line streetcars up and running and hops aboard, eager for a quick trip home. But this is no ordinary streetcar. Death is one of its riders, and Mae is thrust into Annwn, a realm of magic and danger.

“Your transfer, miss. You’ll need that.”

Mae’s life is turned upside down as human and fae worlds collide. Her budding relationship with Jill takes a perilous turn when they are hunted by mythical beasts, and …

ARC Review: The Saint Who Stole My Heart: by Stefanie Sloane

Format read: egalley from NetGalley
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Number of Pages: 304
Genre: regency romance, historical romance
Series: Regency Rogues #4
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Formats Available: paperback, ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon , Barnes & Noble,

Blurb:

Desire, danger, intrigue, and steamy seduction unite a sexy spymaster and an intrepid bluestocking as Stefanie Sloane’s luscious new series continues.

Possessed of a brilliant mind and a love for puzzles, Dashiell Matthews, Viscount Carrington, is a crucial member of the elite Young Corinthians spy league. Assuming the façade of an addle-brained Adonis, he hunts for a notorious London murderer known as the Bishop. When fate causes him to cross paths with Miss Elena Barnes, Dash discovers an enigma that will prove delightfully intoxicating to unravel: a voluptuous beauty as intelligent as she is fearless.

Only the lure of a collection of rare books bequeathed to her family by Dash’s late father could tempt Elena from …

ARC Review: Sunrise Point by Robyn Carr

Format Read:egalley from NetGalley
Number of Pages:384
Release Date:April 24, 2012
Publisher:Mira
Series:Virgin River #19
Formats Available: Mass Market Paperback, Nook, Kindle
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon , Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Book Blurb:

Tom Cavanaugh may think he wants a traditional woman, but in Virgin River, the greatest tradition is falling in love unexpectedly….

Former Marine Tom Cavanaugh’s come home to Virgin River, ready to take over his family’s apple orchard and settle down. He knows just what the perfect woman will be like: sweet, decent, maybe a little naive. The marrying kind.

Nothing like Nora Crane. So why can’t he keep his eyes off the striking single mother?

Nora may not have a formal education, but she graduated with honors from the school of hard knocks. She’s been through tough times and she’ll do whatever it takes to support her family, including helping with harvest time at the Cavanaugh’s orchard. She’s always kept …

ARC Review: The MineFields by Steven C. Eisner

Format read: hardcover from publicist
Release Date: January 25, 2012
Number of Pages: 311
Genre: business fiction, autobiographical fiction
Publisher: When Words Count Press, LLC
Formats Available: hardcover, ebook

Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon , Barnes & Noble,

Blurb:

From an early age, Sam Spiegel single-mindedly pursued an entrepreneurial path that prepared him to transform a small-time ad agency into a regional powerhouse with national ambitions. A couple decades later, Sam had achieved almost everything he ever dreamed possible as the ad agency’s rainmaker, fountainhead, and unflappable pursuer of success. One final goal remained: To consolidate his gains by attracting an international advertising conglomerate and cash out. That’s when the nation is hit with the most unthinkable tragedy, and Sam begins to take stock of his own life, finding that he is growing weary of the relentless hunt. Unsatisfied in his marriage and embroiled in a mind-boggling professional crisis, everything Sam had …