Welcome to the first installment of the series I’m calling Book This! Where I your host talk about the latest book that I’ve read. What I liked about it, what I hate about it, and would I recommend it.
Why should you listen to me?
Well let’s see. I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember and over the years I have developed a, taste, shall we say for what’s a good read and what’s not. From the weird and kooky to the drama and tension filled to the okey dokes. I’ve read them all. So follow me as I bring you along on my reading adventures. I will explore some old favorites and read some never before encountered authors. I will even read the sequel of books that I have been putting off for years (looking at you Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler) and finish some books that got to be too heavy (Pimp by Iceberg Slim).
I am doing this to push myself reading wise and to have a record of what I read. But also to understand story structure, character development and plot methodology. I might not go into all that here. But I figure just writing about what a book is about and explaining why I liked specific parts of it might just help me to become a better writer. After all, don't we all learn by studying those who have done what we want to do? If nothing else it should serve as inspiration for the type of books that I want to write. Not necessarily romance, but books that play in your mind like a movie where everything feels so real that one is actually there, sees what the character sees, feels what the character feels, and understands why the character does what they did.
So without a further ado here is my report on Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston.
First I have read this book and most of the books by this author several times. I can’t even say this was the third time that I have read/listened to this book. But each time I have enjoyed it.
Why?
Because the author does an excellent job of making the character’s real and three dimensional. The character’s are easily identifiable and consistent whether the story is about them or someone else. Even though she does the typical romance author thing of having the main character either have a female friend that is like a sister or literal sisters from which she can then spin off another book series. The way she does it is masterful.
Such as in this case with the main character, Charlie who has two half sisters, Max and Stevie. Each of these characters are unique but similar in some fashion and the bond between them is undeniable. Take Charlie, she is a wolf/honey badger shifter who is abnormally strong, has a take charge attitude but also has flaws and weaknesses that make her human, such as her poor eyesight, allergies and inability to shift. Also her anxiety that takes the form of baking. Max is a borderline psychopath whose sister is the only reason she isn’t in jail. However, although she is crass and blunt, she always has a smile and a great sense of humor even when she is ready to kill everyone in the room. Stevie is a genius with an off the charts IQ however, she has crippling anxiety that makes it hard for her to function in situations where everyday humans/shifters would be perfectly fine. I bet with just this description you are able to picture these characters right. I didn’t even include all the information about them. But with just that you were able to see their strengths that make them superhuman but also their struggles which brings them back to regular, everyday humans like me and you.
Shelly Laurenston is a master at being able to do that. I wonder how she keeps her character’s straight. Like does she have a notebook with all the character’s attributes, or maybe a website devoted just to these various characters? So far she has not missed except for one book. Which I will discuss at a later time.
Her stories take place in different places around the world but more than often in or around New York. I have never been to New York so I can’t say how accurate her naming of locations and their relationship to each other is but I can say she is consistent. Plus each location that a character enters feels real. How she does that is almost like magic. A slight of the hand that you can almost understand if you stare and squint at the magician hard and long enough. With just the addition of small words that don’t go into too much detail but give you the feel/vibe of the place. Providing just enough to give the reader a sense of what is going on that they build upon in their minds. But the way she goes about adding those words are not the typical in your face explanation. Rather there usually isn’t an explanation. It is just the character’s dealing with their surroundings, other people in their surroundings and how that changes depending on where the character is. I guess it comes down to this. She is showing you where the characters are at rather than telling.
This is something that I need to work on in my writing. Just trying to explain how she does it makes me understand how I could incorporate that into my writing better.
So would I recommend this paranormal romance book about shifters whose father causes them problems and how they go about solving them while also having each other’s backs and putting other people (whom we have met in other stories that are badass and seemed unstoppable) in their place.
Heck Yeah!!!!
If you read it or any book by Shelly Laurenston let me know what you thought.
Until next time, be on the look out for the next installment of the Book This! series. This is your host Denishea Young signing off.
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