Darlene > Recent Status Updates

Murderbot is sooooooo good! It's the SF series I've been recommending to so many people they must think I'm babbling.

Murderbot is the (gender neutral) hero I need right now.

I'm enjoying the story, but the head-hopping POV shifts within scenes are making my brain hurt.

Welp, that’s one problem resolved. Is it too early and somewhat naive to say I like the changes I see in Henry? Of course, Simon must re-emerge at some point and then it’s all up in the air.

Dunnett is the empress of “show, don’t tell.” Reading her work as an author is like taking a master class in writing craft.

It's interesting to me that Kathi is identified (by herself and Dunnett) as an ace character long before that became a discussion in modern fiction.

Best line so far: “...Thomas can take on Alexandria. Astorre’s cook can help Diniz in Bruges and the parrot can manage in Scotland. Who’s worried?”

And now, a dashing pirate! It is known, pirates make every story better. Even Niccolo said he's halfway there himself, already having a parrot and an acquaintanceship with a gentleman with a pegleg.

Best line so far: “...Thomas can take on Alexandria. Astorre’s cook can help Diniz in Bruges and the parrot can manage in Scotland. Who’s worried?”

I am _so_ over Geilis. That is all I want to say.

Simon's a moron, Jordan is the kind of malevolently witty villain I enjoy, and I'm not certain about the newly revealed "woo-woo" factor, but I'm hanging in there. Also, we have a new strong female character I'm enjoying. Onward!

_Now_ we find a woman up to NIccolo’s weight in a fight. This just got a whole lot more intriguing.

It's interesting that we get more of Niccolo's POV. Part of what made reading Lymond so fascinating was that we were seldom privy to his thought processes--the "Lost in 'L'" scene where the penny drops is a rare exception. I'm enjoying Niccolo though and will definitely plow through the rest. Excelsior!

I’m gettin deeper in and enjoying it, though Lymond and Thorfinn still are first in my heart.

I'm convinced Sir Walter would have benefited from a good editor. I know we readers would have! Still slogging along, but I'm not optimistic. It's no Ivanhoe.

I've read this before. The re-read is to prep for my visit to Glencoe this summer on my Highlands trip.

So far, I've cried twice. Once was...(damn you, @decastell, you know when) and the other was when the coins were held aloft. Why do I think there are more mascara reapplications to come?

It's always a pleasure to see Donatti show up. Sure, he's a psychopath, but he's our psychopath.

Such an important and engrossing book. It's also interesting to me how the author uses language to challenge the reader's perceptions. Slaves are often referred to as captives, owners as enslavers. As anyone who's taken a linguistics class or writes for a living knows, the words you choose to describe people matter.

Here's my latest blog post for Heroes&Heartbreakers:If You Like Mary Balogh... Try Edith Layton, Jo Beverley, and More! by Darlene Marshall http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com...

I'm loving this book (and Evan Smoak) so much. I predict it will be a summer beach hit.

I'm about 3/4 done. It's really engrossing--great characters, incl. strong middle-aged woman. Don't see enough of that!