Synopsis:: Laurell K. Hamilton revitalized vampires, werewolves, and zombies in the popular Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter books. In this new series, she updates faeries. A Kiss of Shadows introduces Merry Gentry, a.k.a. Meredith NicEssus, a faerie princess of the Unseelie Court, where politics is a blood sport. Merry, who's part sidhe (elvish), part brownie, and part human, never really fit in. She's short, not skilled in offensive magic, and mortal because of her human blood. These are real liabilities when your family, especially aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, is out to kill you. Merry has been in hiding for three years, living in Los Angeles and working for the Grey Detective Agency, which specializes in "supernatural problems, magical solutions." A new case sets her against a man who uses forbidden magic to seduce fey women and drain their power. A plan to trap him goes awry and Merry's cover is blown. Now Andais knows where she is. But things have changed in Andais's court, and Merry is changing too.

This is potentially the most unintentionally hysterical book I have ever read.

For starters, I stacked Merry, the protagonist, against the Mary Sue Litmus Test. God help us, these results may be a little low, as I could not answer on Laurell K. Hamilton's behalf (for instance, she and Merry probably do have several quirks in common); where I could, though, I switched "you" to "the author."*

The results::
--0-10 points: The Anti-Sue. Your character is the very antithesis of a Mary-Sue. Why are you even taking this test?
--11-20 points: The Non-Sue. Your character is a well-developed, balanced person, and is almost certainly not a Mary Sue. Congratulations!
--21-35 points: Borderline-Sue. Your character is cutting it close, and you may want to work on the details a bit, but you're well on your way to having a lovely original character. Good work.
--36-55 points: Mary-Sue. Your character needs some work in order to be believable. But despair not; you should still be able to salvage her with a little effort. Don't give up.
--56-70 points: Über-Sue. You've got one hell of a Mary-Sue on your hands here, and it's not going to be easy to set things right. But do your best. There may be hope for you yet.
--71 points or more: Irredeemable-Sue. You're going to have to start over, my friend. I know you want to keep writing, but no. Just no.

Merry's score? 105.

I rest my case. They should rename that sucker 'The Merry Sue Litmus Test.'

No, in seriousness, this was a bad book. I don't even know where to start. It's just erotica. Only... not really erotic. Funny, kinda. Mindless pr0n. But told by an author with guilt about her kinks and serious, serious issues with men. All of the men in Merry's world are either raping, murderous bastards or completely honorable, idealized beauties. Oh, and they're color-coded. The green one, the purple one, the blue one... that's the only way to tell them apart. I have serious suspicions that LKH was once a frustrated secretary with a signed, framed headshot of Fabio on her desk. Possibly an auxillary altar at home. Just sayin'.

Anyway, I really do have to let the quotes speak for themselves. A few of my favorites:

( 'His car matched the rest of him-- expensive, sleek, fast.'Collapse )

Okay, I give. I can't really review a book with such a thin plot. The plot: Everyone wants to fuck Merry. Even the stoic ones, even the ones who previously hated and/or were indifferent to her. Even the ones who get set up as badass and intimidating are her little lap puppies inside of two minutes. And she must, must sleep with as many of them as she can for the sake of the kingdom. For about 50 pages, I thought that they were going to go from a 'Merry is a sexual healer' angle, but even that isn't salvageable under all of this purple prose.

What I can say is that it was hysterical to read aloud to friends and my roommate. It was a much appreciated laugh. It made me really worry for the author's sanity, though. She's got some rape fantasy issues that it seems she's not dealing too healthily with. Other than that, though... heh. If anyone wants my copy, you're welcome to it. I warn you, it's underlined with phrases like "lulz" and "omg" and "heh!" every third page or so.


( Mary Sue Litmus Test positive answers.Collapse )

2006 Book Log:: http://sihaya09.livejournal.com/439937.html

Help me decide.

( With pictures!Collapse )

Okay-- the bodice is a size small. I tried it on again earlier this week, and saw that it's going to be really hard for me to get it laced. I mean, two women stuffed me into it last year when I bought it. There's about a 2" gap on either side. Maybe I should have gotten a medium, but the bottom line is that it's still wearable, and even the Moresca website shows their bodices with 2" gaps. However, I might want to minimize the appearance of those gaps with a colored chemise, because the gaps aren't my particular aesthetic. My immediate thought was an old gold color, but I don't want to risk looking too monochromatic, even if I am going for an Autumnal theme. What color chemise should I consider?

And two-- it's more historically accurate to wear two skirts, but I don't know if I'm all over the aesthetic. I did find this seller on eBay who makes double skirts very simply. If I were to get a double-skirt to go with that bodice, I think I'd get something like Old Gold over Brick or Old Wine. Still, I'm going for a super-slim waist, and I don't want it to be too bulky there. So... indecision. Suggestions?

And I'm going to get a belt upon which to hang a leather purse this year. That way I can keep necessities in the pouch rather than poking me in the bosom.

Help dress me!

(Oh, and if anyone needs a 4' cotton broadcloth skirt in hunter green, I have one of those, too, that I'd be willing to loan out.)